Aligning the Stars
by anglmukhii
Summary: She was formerly the crown princess and he had seized her father's throne. A marriage between the two would secure him the throne. Love was not necessary and they didn't even expect to like each other. But love can be found in the most bizarre places under bizarre circumstances. Even between two former enemies. NaLu AU. [ON HIATUS]
1. Reluctance

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.**_

 _ **A/n- May 3, 2015:** Okay so I was originally going to publish this later on in the month, after exams. But it's been an extremely tough weekend so I decided to start working on this right away. All right, I already wrote a NaLu one-shot before and it was also an AU, so the praise on that gave me the courage to write a multichapter story. All right, so I'm a giant history nerd and so I decided to incorporate it into the fan fiction that I write. So that's how this story was born. The characters may be a little OOC at times, but I thought it'd fit them the best. Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this! _

**_Summary:_** _She was formerly the crown princess and he had seized her father's throne. A marriage between the two would secure him the throne. Love was not necessary and they didn't even expect to like each other. But love can be found in the most bizarre places under bizarre circumstances. Even between two former enemies._

* * *

 _ **Chapter 1: Reluctance**_

* * *

Natsu had stopped listening. Anything but the subject that was being discussed would be better. He had seized the throne fair and square. But, as his advisors had been repeatedly telling him, obtaining it was one thing and maintaining it was a whole other thing. Most of Fiore still didn't recognize his rule. Being king meant very little if one did not have the support of his people. And for weeks now, they had been suggesting possible ways to get him their support. And so far, no solution seemed to be any good.

That was until...

"I have a suggestion, Your Majesty?" one of the advisors asked, his voice filled with uncertainty.

Natsu raised an eyebrow, "Do you now? Anything that doesn't involve me riding out and being chased out of villages by an angry mob?"

His irritable tone of voice matched the mood and patience of every person on the council. Everyone was tired and exhausted. After all the efforts to get Natsu on the throne, whole towns and villages had were still rising up against him. Calling him a false king and a usurper. Something had to be done soon, otherwise the country could torn apart by his supporter's and the old king's supporters. This country could not afford a civil war after everything it had gone through the last few years.

"Yes, sire. I am not sure how on board you will be with this solution but..." he trailed off. Natsu sighed. He wasn't that frightening was he?

"Spit it out. If it'll possibly secure the damn throne, I'm open to it."

"The country is in a state of confusion. The sudden rise of a completely new monarch and dynasty is bound to cause unrest. No one is convinced that you can actually rule them properly. However, there is a way to solve this peacefully and the people will have to accept you. Marriage," he said. Once he finished, he paused, waiting on the king's reaction.

The rest of the advisors seemed to raise their eyebrows at the suggestion. But Natsu openly grimaced at the thought. He knew this particular subject would come up eventually. I mean it was inevitable. He was king and he had to secure the line of succession. He had to produce legitimate heirs. And for that, he needed a wife. He hated the very idea though. He was a free spirit, not to be tied down easily. But still, the country came before his own desires, "Marriage. I see. So do you have anyone in mind then?"

Either way he'd hate it. But the advisor beamed and so he said, "The country recognizes the last king, Jude, as the rightful monarch. But now that he is dead, the people recognize his daughter and heir, Lucy Heartfilia, as their queen. I know it may seem like a distasteful suggestion, but I propose a marriage alliance between her and yourself. It may solve a large amount of our problems."

The room went dead silent for a good half of a minute. Natsu, who had previously been so disinterested in this very discussion, found himself staring almost furiously at the advisor. The advisor bit his lip, fervently praying that his suggestion hadn't just cost him his head.

"The Heartfilia girl? Are you mad?" one advisor barked. He had said what Natsu had wanted to say. Only he said it in a less crass manner.

"Yes the Heartfilia girl. As I said, a good portion of this country still sees her as the rightful heir to the throne. Think of it this way, if you were to marry her, the country would have no other choice but to accept you as their king," the man defended, pushing the positive side of the suggestion.

"And a Heartfilia back on the throne," Natsu said, flatly. His tone as well as his entire demeanor was kept in check when he was in a meeting with his advisers. But in truth, he wanted to burn the whole place to the ground at such a suggestion. He hadn't spent years in exile, fought battles with a ragtag group of soldiers, and miraculously win for this. He spent so much time trying to oust the Heartfilia and now he has expected to wed and put one back on the throne. No, there was no way he would do that.

"Yes it would. But you have to remember one thing, Your Grace. She's already our prisoner. If she were to escape with supporters of the Heartfilia and marry someone else, possibly someone with an army, it could spell disaster for you. She and her husband would be able to rally a majority good chunk of the country behind them and take back the throne. However, if you were to marry her, not only would your rule be secured, but as your husband you could have control over her actions," he said. He sat back down and waited.

Natsu didn't show it, but he was clenching his fists under the table. No matter how much he wanted to scream at the adviser that he was wrong, he knew that he wasn't. While he was king, which technically meant he could do as he pleased, he couldn't. Securing his rule was priority and to that, again he needed the support and favor of the people. And though he thought that he would eventually have the former crown princess executed on some trumped up charge, this solution was a lot less bloody and a lot more favorable. But still, he needed to think about that...

He nodded his head, "I'll take it into consideration. However, if I find anything problematic with this solution, I'm going to shoot down the suggestion."

The adviser only smiled and nodded, knowing that even though there could be potential problems with his suggestion, it was the best course of action and that the king would see it soon enough. Natsu, however, was trying to think of all different ways to shoot suggestion. And that by itself was difficult...

* * *

"A marriage huh?"

The meeting went on for what seemed like hours. Natsu didn't think that there was any more joy than when he was let out. And the second he was, he grabbed his best friend Gray and rode out to a small river close enough to the castle. Natsu groaned at the mention of the marriage proposal. Gray had a habit of listening in on the meetings from the outside.

"You really need to stop listening in on those damn meetings."

Gray shrugged as he picked up a pebble and flung it into the river, "Well, someone's gotta listen to what they tell you. Lord knows that you don't."

"Do we have to talk about this? Don't kill my mood even more," Natsu grumbled, also grabbing a pebble and throwing it into the river.

"No, we don't. Although I hear that Lucy Heartfilia is quite the beauty," he smirked, side eyeing his best friend, waiting to see the reaction. Often times it was hilarious, but not this time.

"Yeah? Isn't that what they all say to get their daughters married off? For all I know, she looks like a hag."

Again Gray shrugged, "Well I wouldn't know. I haven't seen her myself. But a few of the people around the castle definitely have. It's obvious from all the crude things they say and what they wish they could do to her. You'd probably be a lucky guy."

Natsu snorted, "Yeah, well if beauty were the only thing she had, I'd be completely all right marrying her. But I hear she has a bit of a temper, doesn't bend to anyone's will easily, and lots of determination."

"That's what you've heard. Have you actually met her?" Gray asked. Natsu eyed his friend suspiciously.

"What the hell do you care if I have or haven't? She's the daughter of my enemy. Why the hell would I want to marry her? And why the hell would she want to marry me? If there's one thing that for sure, being married to her is going to be miserable!" at that point, Natsu took a rock and flung it into the river, hard.

Gray just rolled his eyes, "All the more reason to keep her close. Whoever suggested it was right, you know. You'll be able to keep a closer eye on her if she's your wife. Also, I can still see that you're as stupid as ever." Natsu scowled at him but Gray went on before Natsu could even get a chance to open his mouth. "And who cares about what either of you want? You're the king, she's a princess. People in your high position don't get that luxury."

Natsu pouted and fell back on the grass and stared up at the sky. It was starting to get cloudy, much like his mood. Damn, he could've at least counted on Gray to at least have his back for once. But no, he had to be icy and reasonable. The bastard.

"Give it a shot. Who knows, you might actually fall in love with her," Gray smirked, half teasing.

Natsu scoffed at the idea, "Yeah, like that'll ever happen. Again, daughter of my enemy. She has more of a reason to hate me than I hate her."

"True. But give it a shot. I mean even if you don't like her, she's going to bring you a lot of power through marriage. Think about that. That's exactly what you need right now," and with that Gray went silent. He had nothing more that he could say.

Natsu whined a little. He only did it around Gray because if anyone else had seen it, he'd never hear the end of it. "Fine. I suppose I can meet her just once. But if I don't like her, which I know I won't, this whole thing is off. I don't care how much power she's going to get me, I'll get it some other way. I am not going to spend the rest of my life with a woman I won't be able to stand!"

Gray had to refrain from laughing in his friend's face. Natsu was honestly such a child in so many ways. Sometimes he wondered how he was able to win the throne in the first place. Gray wasn't about to go on and on about how, sometimes, the kings and queens of the past had to marry for political reasons and sometimes to people they outright hated. If Natsu was still in exile, he may have had a little room to complain, but as king? Definitely not. Gray knew that one way or the other this marriage was going to happen. He didn't know how, but it would.

And he also knew well, that while Lucy Heartfilia had a reputation for being a bit defiant, she would do her duty. After all, she was alive completely on Natsu's whim. And he also knew that if Natsu ordered it, she could lose her head in a flash. So if he chose to marry her, her life would depend on her answer and obedience...

* * *

Sewing and sitting indoors wasn't something that Lucy Heartfilia was particularly fond of. She'd spent so much of her life running around outside. She was always a bit of a free spirit.

And yet here she was. A prisoner in the house small castle she grew up in. Sure she wasn't a prisoner in the traditional sense, but she had so much more to lose if she made one wrong step. The men who guarded her were rude and more often than not, making inappropriate comments at her when they thought they couldn't hear her.

And at first it bothered her, it bothered her to the point where she would cry herself to sleep every night. She had been the crown princess, born with a silver sppon in her mouth, respected and loved by all. She was now reduced to a prisoner of the man who had taken everything from her. The girl who had kept her head so high was almost forced to bow her head in order to survive.

The two things that she held dear were the two things she had been allowed to keep: her life and her two dearest friends.

"Princess, I've brought you some food, you haven't eaten anything all day," Lucy spun around to see that it was Levy holding a tray of bread and apple slices. It wasn't a lot, but there wasn't much else she could eat around here, so she smiled warmly at her friend.

"It's Lucy, Levy. I'm no longer the princess remember?" she said, her voice slightly hushed. These days, she didn't speak much. And Levy for one, would not have any of it.

"You will always be the true princess in my eyes, Lucy. No matter who's sitting on the throne, it matters little. Most of the country is rising up in support of you. That pretender's days are already numbered. One day soon, it will be you sitting on the throne and he will be at your mercy!"

"Quiet Levy!" Lucy scolded, her eyes widening as she looked around frantically, fearing that someone had heard Levy's words.

"I do not care if someone heard me. You are the rightful heir. I know it's unlike me to speak like this, but I see you suffer day by day. I can't bear to see it anymore!" Lucy could see tears starting to form in Levy's eyes so she grabbed her hands gently.

"I haven't lost everything Levy. I still have you and I still have Erza. Maybe I don't have Juvia, but I know that she would be here if she could be. I still have my head. Don't...don't speak ill of the king. I'm still alive because of him," she said, but in truth she couldn't help but imagine herself running him through with the same sword that he had used to run through her father on the battlefield. But she had to keep herself in check. "I'm not broken Levy."

Lucy grabbed the small roll of bread and nibbled a piece off. She was famished, truth be told. She might've been in an extremely precarious situation right now, but she wasn't about to give up on hope. It had carried her this far and if she had to, she would fight to keep the life that had thus far been spared. But she had to be smart about it too. Being outspoken and defiant may have been tolerated by her father, but it was certainly not going to be tolerated by the current king. She cringed whenever she called him that.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door suddenly opening. Lucy almost cringed at how loudly the doors here opened. But she smiled ever so slightly when the door opened to reveal the form of her other dear friend, Erza. And she had a letter in her hand. Lucy's heart dropped a little. Last time one of her ladies had come with a letter, it was ordering her to leave Lucy and return to her family's home at once.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but..." Erza started, holding up the letter in her hand.

Lucy inhaled, "Is your family ordering you to return to them as well?"

Erza arched an eyebrow, "Hm? No of course not. This letter is not addressed to me. It's addressed to you. And it's from the palace in Magnolia.

Lucy had to remember how to breathe properly for a moment. Maybe it was an order for her execution? No, it wouldn't have gone directly to her if it was. But why would they want with her?

"Did you intercept the messenger on your walk again?" Levy asked, sighing as she shook her head. Lucy may have been the most defiant of them all, but Erza had the most courage. Some of her stunts could have gotten her killed or at least severely punished had she been caught.

"What does it say?" Lucy asked, seeing that the seal had been broken. Normally that would've bothered her and she would've spared no effort in scolding but she was impatient now to know what it said.

"It says that the king is coming here, to this castle to meet with you. It says the matter is private, so I couldn't tell you why he wants to meet with you," Erza said, a hint of annoyance in her voice. Erza liked to be on top of things and it frustrated her to no end when she wasn't in on something.

Lucy's brows came together as she visibly scowled at the prospect, "So the pretender is coming here. To meet with me. I wonder why. Maybe he wants me to swear my loyalty to him so that the whole country will follow suit. And if that is the case he is very foolish indeed. I will never bend a knee to him. He'll have to kill me first."

Lucy would've regretted saying all of that, but she couldn't be bothered now. Erza and Levy gave her a smile. It had been a while since they'd seen the confident, defiant princess in Lucy.

"King" Natsu really had no idea who he was dealing with...

* * *

 _Blekh! Sucky ending is sucky. Okay that went...not as great as I wanted it but it could've been worse. It's been a while since I started writing a multichaptered story. And this would be my first ever one for Fairy Tail so I'm a little terrified as to how this went. Again it's been a while since I wrote anything with any real plot so...I'm sorry! Okay I'm rambling. And do leave a review! I really like reviews. Kind of a whore for them. Every little one helps me improve a bit. And if you did like it, well I'll be updating again in a few weeks. Okay I'm done now. Thanks for reading this first chapter! :*_

 **— _november-drops_**


	2. Far From Ideal

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters.**_

* * *

 _ **A/n- May 16/17, 2015:**_ _Huh. I wasn't expecting that many follows or reviews in all honesty. I know most people yawn and get bored at the thought of history. But wow, thanks guys! All right, so I decided to show some mercy to all of you who desperately wanted a second chapter quick. But I will warn you that in the future, for better chapters, you may have to wait 2-3 weeks, maybe even a month. It takes a while to write something I could even remotely consider to be good. But this is the last chapter I will publish before final exams. I hope any questions you guys have will be answered slowly. Okay, here we go!_

 _ **Recap:** Natsu took the throne quite rn ecently and by no means has it been easy on him. Most of the country does not accept his rule and under the threat of civil unrest, his council advises him to marry the formed crown princess and the rightful ruler in the eyes of the people, Lucy Heartfilia. Though reluctant, he does agree to meet with her. But like him, the princess isn't too keen on meeting with him and she is just as free of a spirit as he is..._

* * *

 ** _Chapter 2: Far From Ideal_**

* * *

The week was going by agonizingly slow. All of the girls were having a hard time sleeping, eating, and going about their daily activities. With the so-called king coming, the preparations for his arrival had the rest of the countryside manor in a frenzy. Lucy could not care less for any of it. She didn't care if the manor was dark and disgusting, as long as it kept him away. But sadly, she had very little say in anything. She did think of protesting, but with her outspoken spirit so chained and confined because of her present situation, she thought it best to stay quiet. Nighttime was really the only time that she was able to really roam around and even be a little free.

She hadn't slept well since her father's death. Despite having her friends on her side and knowing that she wasn't completely alone, she felt very much isolated. Every day that Erza and Levy were with her, they were in danger as well. If she was executed, more likely than not, they would be too just for their loyalty to her. Out of everyone in this country, she was in the most unstable, most vulnerable position. Everything she did, everyone she spoke to was kept track of. Sure that was always the life of a royal, but when her father was on the throne, it didn't quite matter. Her safety was ensured. Now his enemy was on the throne, nothing was guaranteed anymore.

The nights where she was able to walk around in the gardens of the manor were the ones where she felt even remotely free. The garden wasn't much of a garden anymore. Barely any money was sent to this place and maintaining such a large garden took large amounts of money. She smiled bitterly. Natsu was purposely doing this. He was sending enough to keep her and everyone around alive, but nowhere near enough to keep them comfortable. Especially not her. He was probably just keeping her alive until he figured out what to do. Ideally, he would've just exiled her abroad. But much to her dismay, she was a princess who had a majority of the support of her people. Sending her anywhere that he couldn't keep track of her every move was dangerous for his rule. She had to give him props, though. He wasn't stupid. It didn't make her hate him any less.

So she couldn't help but wonder what his visit was all about. He probably hated her. She had no problem with that. Feelings were mutual on that front, but what did he have to say to her that he couldn't by messenger. He'd already taken everything from her, what more did she have to give him? Her loyalty and a bended knee? Never. Even if the rest of the country did, she never would. She was too proud, too stubborn to ever do that. But even that wouldn't warrant him coming here. Eventually he'd gain the loyalty and support of the people, even if it took a while. At that she smirked. That wouldn't ever happen. Loyalty and support took generations. The Heartfilia family had to see at least 3 kings on the throne before anyone accepted them as the rightful rulers. Natsu probably wouldn't see any guarantee of support for his reign in his lifetime and he'd spend the rest of his life fighting to keep what he claimed was rightfully his.

But her face fell when she realized that Natsu would probably marry to secure his position. And he would probably marry a princess from some neighboring country. Thinking that some foreign princess would be sitting on the throne just didn't sit well with her at all.

"You shouldn't be out here..." Lucy was snapped out of her musings by the familiar voice of Erza. She spun around and sure enough she wasn't too far behind her. Had she been following Lucy this entire time?

Lucy gave a little shrug, "I could say the same to you."

Erza just shook her head, "Forgive me for being a little blunt, princess, but my _situation_ isn't as precarious as yours."

Again she shrugged, "That's always been the case. Even when my father was the king. The only things that have really changed are that my father's dead, a pretender took his crown, and that I am no longer princess."

Erza frowned. She hated when Lucy talked like that. Even if what she said was fact, she sounded almost disheartened. In truth, neither she nor Levy could tell anymore. One minute she was the strong, hardheaded princess she'd always been, but the next she seemed like she had abandoned all hope of things ever looking up for her. "The majority of the country begs to differ."

Lucy raised her head to look up at the night sky. It was a particularly beautiful night. Unlike most nights, the stars were actually twinkling. For once in her now miserable existence, it didn't seem so bad. But as she looked on, she couldn't help but feel as if the stars were trying to tell her something tonight.

"In some ways it's not so bad. But..." she trailed off, not really sure of what she was trying to say. Maybe a reassurance? Not so much for Erza as it were for herself.

"Princess-" she started to say, but Lucy cut her off.

"Lucy. Just Lucy. I'm not the princess anymore. Regardless of what the people believe and think, my family is no longer on the throne. And we don't know who could be listening. For the sake of keeping your life, just call me Lucy," she said, her voice falling into a hushed whisper. Erza gritted her teeth and clenched her fists.

"Lucy, what do you want? Really what do you want? One moment you're the hard-headed, determined princess we all knew you as, but quite literally the next you sink back into this state of helplessness. Like you've lost all hope. Please, what is it that you're thinking?"

Lucy couldn't help but pause at the question. She lowered her head to look at her friend and Erza cringed at the look in her eyes. They were almost empty, but there was something else there. Something she couldn't put her finger on. Something almost scary.

"I don't really want anything. I just..."

 _I want my throne back. I want my family back. I want my happiness back. I want back everything that I'm no longer allowed to have..._

"...don't want to bend a knee to the man who took everything from me. But over that, I just want to live."

Her voice quivered, no matter how much she tried to hide her fears, her heartache, and most of all her anger. Erza could've said something at that moment, but she refrained from doing so. Nothing she could say at this point would help. Lucy was trying to hold onto hope, but it was waning day by day.

The Lucy she had been before her family was overthrown would've sent letters all over the country and sure enough could've raised an army by now. But that Lucy was disappearing more and more as the days wore on. They were in a rundown manor in the country side and no one knew where she was other than a select few families.

But Erza was curious, "You know, the king would not be coming here himself if all he demanded was your loyalty. He could've easily gotten that by other methods."

And she was right. The only reason he could ever want an oath of loyalty from her would be because the the entire country would follow her. But he wanted to meet with her privately. Erza wasn't sure what to make of that.

"He can demand whatever he'd like, I don't care. He's already taken everything he could possibly take," Lucy said, her brows coming together in a scowl. "There's nothing I can give him. He'd be a fool to think that a stupid oath is going to fix any of his problems."

Erza nodded her head at this,"Exactly. He's no fool either. He came back to this country with a rag tag group of soldiers and managed to win against all odds. It might be what fate had in store all along but...

"...I don't believe in fate. I never did. He won simply because he learned how to fight better than my father," Lucy cut her off. With her tone of voice, Erza got the hint that perhaps anything but the king would be a good topic of discussion.

"You really should sleep, your health will fail if you don't. Please, don't do that to yourself or to your country. You may not see it, but the country still loves you. Majority of the country wants you on the throne. Don't send yourself to an early grave just because the circumstances are rather difficult," Erza walked up to her and put her hands on Lucy's shoulders. Lucy gave a small smile.

"I intend to live. While there's a certain peace in death, I refuse to give the "king" the satisfaction of knowing that he managed to kill me without having to get his hands dirty."

Erza could only smile sadly. She really didn't know anymore. She didn't know what Lucy was thinking. She didn't know what she wanted. And Erza was almost sure that no matter how many times Lucy had probably told herself, she wasn't quite sure what she wanted either. Nothing was certain for her anymore...

* * *

"People in this country..." Natsu groaned as he plopped down on to his chair. He was in no mood to talk to anyone else tonight. After another long meeting with his council, nothing was really getting solved. And as much as he hated to admit it, the marriage idea starting to look more and more necessary as the days dragged on. And he scowled at the very thought. People were so blinded by their loyalties to the previous line of kings that they'd pretty much forgotten what was good for them. How was he supposed to rule over this lot of idiots?

He groaned and looked down at his dinner. He had requested to eat privately in his rooms tonight. He didn't want to speak to or look at another person. Everyone was irritable today. He didn't want to condemn someone to the stake just for trying to talk to him.

But of course, just because he wanted to eat alone didn't mean he would get to. Because sure enough, Gray, the only person allowed to barge in on him doing pretty much anything, welcomed himself right in. He didn't particularly care usually, but today was not one of those days.

"I want to be alone," he said flatly, cursing himself inwardly for not telling the guards stationed outside his door to keep even Gray out.

"Yeah, I would, but someone needs to keep your from tearing up the place. The whole court saw you fuming and raging, looking like you were going to burn this whole place to the ground. What's going on?" Gray plopped down on the seat opposite of him.

Natsu clenched his hand so tightly that he almost broke the fork he was holding. "The people in this country, they don't even know what's good for them! Never mind that the old kings had been running the country into the ground financially for at least a century!"

Gray nodded in agreement, "Well, you know how it is. They think the right to rule is a divine one. One gifted by the heavens."

Natsu just rolled his eyes. He would never say it, but he never believed in the concept of divine rule and he was pretty iffy on the whole idea of the heavens. I mean if it were real, why would they let kings who did nothing but destroy their country have the throne. But also by that logic, if he was on the throne then the heavens were surely on his side. The logic of these people was utter nonsense he decided. He could prove to be a good king, if they let him have that chance.

And Gray went on, "They don't know anything else. They are so used to the old ways that anything new is obviously going to scare them. Human nature if anything. What they want and what they like isn't necessarily what's best for this country and for them. Quit being such a hot head, they'll bend eventually."

"Glad to see you're being so cool about this. Easy from someone who doesn't have to take care of an entire country," Natsu grumbled, stabbing at his meat with almost enough force to break the plate.

"Tell me, how well is raging going for you? Quit being stubborn and actually listen to your council for once," Gray said, leaning back on his chair. He had already eaten, and he was tired.

"Easy for you to say, you don't have to..." he mumbled off, not wanting to say the words and remind himself of his only viable option.

"You know, you wouldn't have to see her all that much if you did marry her. All you'd have to do is marry her, visit her rooms at least once a week, get a few heirs off of her, and afterwards you can resume your lives separately. It's not the best situation ever, but you really..." Gray was cut off by Natsu's hand.

"Anything but this subject please. Lucy Heartfilia is not someone I want to be talking about when I'm trying to keep my food down," he grabbed the goblet of wine and started chugging it down. "Also you're a free man! Who are you to give me advice on how to deal with the prospect of marrying my enemy?"

"Well actually, that's the other thing I came to talk to you about. I may not be a single man for much longer, unless you oppose the idea..." Gray started slowly. That made Natsu drop his fork.

"...Who is she?" Was the only thing Natsu managed to say. He could never imagine Gray settling down. Other than the fact that they were complete opposites, they seemed to enjoy pleasure and had no plans of ever settling down. Natsu remembered the nights in exile, both of them spending them drinking and with whatever girl they wanted. It was an excellent break from all the planning and training for battle.

"Lockser's daughter and heir. If you remember clearly, they're the second most powerful land owners in the country," Gray was still going slowly and Natsu knew there was more to the story than what Gray was telling him. Either Gray wanted the land and the power that came with it or the girl. Maybe even both.

"I see. You want this don't you?" Natsu wasn't an idiot. He knew his best friend and childhood rival like the back of his hand.

"Well, it wouldn't be such a shabby offer. Look at what I inherit when Lockser dies," Gray pointed out, but even that wasn't a satisfactory answer, so Natsu kept pushing.

"And the girl?" at that Natsu got the satisfaction of seeing Gray tense up slightly. He had him.

It only took Gray a second to regain his composure and nonchalantly say, "She's pleasant enough."

And Natsu could only laugh, "Oh is that so? Do you know what the punishment for lying to your King is? Cutting your tongue out."

Gray raised an eyebrow, "Cut out my tongue for something as trivial as that? No that's the punishment for spies and shameless gossips."

Natsu rolled his eyes, "You want the land and the girl. It's all right, I figured it out. I know you and I know people. Only time a man comes to me with a proposal for his own marriage, he desires the girl along with whatever wealth she can get him. You're so exception to that."

Gray smirked, "Guess you figured it out. Yes I like the girl well enough. If I had to take any woman to be my wife, she'd be my choice."

"How romantic..." Natsu mumbled. "But you don't love her."

Gray shrugged, "Well looking back, it's a miracle that I can say this now. I couldn't stand her and first and she almost couldn't stand me either. And had it not been for the rewards I would reap upon marriage to her, I wouldn't have stayed. We got to know each other, bitter feelings began to disappear, and we decided that we wouldn't mind spending our lives together."

Natsu eyed him suspiciously. Now he was beginning to see why Gray was pushing him to consider Lucy. Of course. "So it was the best case scenario. Aren't you just a lucky man?"

The sarcasm was dripping from Natsu's tone and Gray was growing wary of constantly having to repeat himself over and over, "I'm saying that you don't have to make this miserable for yourself. If I can learn to be happy with a girl I outright hated at first, so can you. Try spending some time with her when you're there. She may surprise you."

Gray said nothing more after that. Natsu just stared at him, trying once again to find an angle to argue from. There wasn't one. Because Gray actually had a point. While he wasn't happy with it, he'd try. And he groaned. What else could he do? The faster he could marry her, the faster his problems would start to solve...

* * *

The week was finally over and the King was expected to arrive that very day. Lucy tried to forget that this was even happening. Her fate could possibly be sealed with this very visit. But no matter what, he would not get her allegiance. Even though the consequences truly scared her.

Luckily she was able to get some time with Levy today. Lucy was rather talented in the areas of art and writing. Today though, she particularly felt like sketching. It was soothing, one of the few things she could do to spend her time without getting deathly bored.

"Is that the garden?" Levy asked, peering over from her book. It looked so life like. Levy always wondered how she could draw so well. Lucy smiled brightly.

"It is. Of course it's autumn coming to an end so it doesn't quite look like this, but I imagine in the Spring it'll be quite lovely," she continued sketching in the smaller details. She'd been sketching this for a while now, but with all the stress from the week, she wasn't able to focus on much of anything.

"It's beautiful, I wish I had your skill. I'd be lucky if I could even make decent stick figures," Levy let out a laugh. Lucy smiled warmly, Levy really did have a lovely laugh. It was nice to hear it again.

And almost immediately, the peace and happiness came to an end less than a few seconds later.

Erza had an indiscernible look on her face. "The King and a few of his men have been spotted, they should be here at any moment. We've been asked to gather to greet him. But especially you. You will be the first to be introduced. Please Lucy, for the sake of your life and everyone who cares for it, do not show your distaste for the King..."

Sure enough, five minutes later, the three girls and their guards were down there. Lucy tried her best not to look up but she could see the men on horseback. The one leading it had hair the color of salmon. She assumed that was him. Looking at him though, he was not at all what she'd expected. The image painted for her was a blood thirsty brute with hard features. This man, if she could even call him that, was from it. She could even dare to think he was handsome. But she immediately slapped that out of her mind. No matter how he looked, he had killed her father and taken his throne. That was what truly made him a monster in her eyes.

She continued to stare at the ground as she heard the horses come to a halt and the sound of the men getting off of their horses. She would look down till the last possible moment.

"Your Majesty," the chief guard began, bowing to Natsu. "It is an honor to have you here."

Lucy heard him say, in a sickenly polite tone of voice, "Thank you, it is nice to be here."

Lucy knew immediately that that was her cue. But she waited until she heard the guard say, "May I introduce you to the Lady Lucy Heartfilia?"

Lucy's head was up but her eyes were cast downwards. She didn't want to look at him. However, as she dipped low into a curtsy, she could've sworn that she heard him inhale quite sharply. And slowly she looked up to meet his rather stunned gaze.

"Your...Majesty."

* * *

 _Okay! So that didn't come out the way I'd originally intended, but in writing the last part, I thought that maybe I can split up that initial encounter by doing it from both of their POVs. So the start of the next chapter will start off with Natsu's point of view of the situation. Anyway, because my confidence is low, I'm praying I didnt disappoint anyone with this chapter. I promise, starting next chapter it will get better. Sorry so much for repetition! Anyway do leave a review, they really help with the writing process and help me get a clearer vision. All right thanks for reading guys! Till next time!_

 _— **november-drops**_


	3. Fated Meeting?

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

 ** _A/n- May 25, 2015:_** _Woo! That was quite the response I got for the last chapter. They were encouraging enough for me to start writing chapter 3 almost immediately. All right, so I've decided to start taking my time with these chapters as I want them to be as perfect as I can get them. Okay, so you guys wanted it, here is chapter 3! Well expect more frequent updates, I'm off for 3 months!_

 ** _Recap:_** _Things are beginning to unravel as the instability of the country grows. Natsu becomes more frustrated and realizes that marrying Lucy may be his only chance of achieving stability. He's stubborn though, but his best friend Gray convinces him to try and at least get to know the woman with whom he may have to spend his life with. The day arrives that the two meet and..._

* * *

 ** _Chapter 3: Fated Meeting?_**

* * *

The journey on horseback was an annoyance. Not only was the ride out to the Heartfilia's old country manor almost half of a day's ride from the capital, but they'd had to cross towns where Natsu was clearly not a welcome sight. But no one tried anything too bad, the most audacious ones having only spit in his direction. After putting up with this for months, Natsu's nerves were frayed to the point where he just let it pass. There were more important matters to attend to, like coming face to face with his potential bride. Yes, he would rather drown in his so-called subjects' spit.

He behaved though, as Gray was behind him on the right and his other most trusted friend, Jellal Fernandes, was behind him to the left. With those two around, no one dared try anything. One swift stroke of their blades and their heads could be clean off. No one dared risk it.

A nearly 12 hour journey, with only one stop to eat and rest, was an annoyance to everyone. Natsu tried not to show it, but it was unusually hot for the autumn and not to mention that his bottom was starting to hurt from sitting on a horse's back for too long. So when he could not take it anymore, he groaned out a, "How much longer?"

Gray sighed, "Not that much longer. Maybe a half an hour or so. Calm down, we'll get there."

A half an hour more of this? He suppressed a groan. Why couldn't he just summon her to court? She would've had no choice but to obey, especially if she wanted to keep her life. But no, he couldn't do that. She had supporters all over the country. If she had traveled, who knows what could've happened? He did not want to think about the possible consequences. Men drove themselves crazy when they over thought these things.

But what he couldn't escape was thinking about all of things that could possibly go wrong with this meeting. What if everything said about her was a complete lie? From her defiant personality all the way to her beauty. His stomach lurched at the very idea of her being an ugly hag. But then what reason would the men have to lie about that? Or worse, what if she was pretty but even more insufferable than he'd heard? Thinking about it all made his head spin, but he couldn't stop thinking off all of the ways this could all go sour.

He was snapped out of his nightmarish thoughts by Jellal's voice announcing, "There's the manor. Try to smile, Your Grace."

He looked up ahead and from the corner of his eye he could see the line of people waiting. He couldn't see them properly as there was still some distance, but he could bet that Lucy was probably in that line. He had to keep it together and not lose it.

He smiled, granted it was incredibly forced, he was trying and no one would dare question it. It wasn't long before they reached the front of the manner. Half of him wanted to look at the line, to see what the young woman that was about to be forced on him looked like. The other half didn't dare and that side won. He could be hopeful for a few more minutes couldn't he?

"Your Majesty," was what Natsu was greeted with the second he got off of his horse. "It is an honor to have you here."

He smiled and very politely said, trying to keep his eyes away from the line, "Thank you, it is nice to be here."

But that didn't last long because almost immediately after his words of thanks he heard, "May I introduce you to the Lady Lucy Heartfilia?"

Natsu heard slow, cautious footsteps come forward and finally he brought himself to look in the direction of the footsteps. What he saw almost made him have to take a few steps back. He couldn't help it, he drew in a sharp breath. And the first thing to cross his was, ' _Gray was right_.'

"Your...Majesty," was the first thing he heard come out her mouth as she lifted her head to look up at him, showing her face properly to him for the first time. If he thought Gray was right before he took that back immediately. To describe this girl as a beauty did not do her looks justice at all. She had blonde hair that went a little past her shoulders and wide, dark brown eyes. She was dressed in a plain, light blue gown which had a low cut neckline, revealing the tops of her rather generous bosom. The gown accentuated her figure in all the right places, especially the soft curves of her hips. Natsu had to keep himself from gulping at the sight. In the city she'd be considered a classical beauty but Natsu couldn't help but disagree. She was definitely some kind of goddess. He was sure of it. Well it was a relief in that guard he supposed.

Natsu followed to the guard as he introduced him to everyone else in the line, but he was barely paying attention. He nodded his head here and there, but from the corner of his eye, he was only looking at Lucy. How could he not? Every man was looking at her. But there was something wrong. She wasn't smiling or frowning, she just stood there with a deadpan expression on her face. It didn't suit her face. She was the kind of girl that needed to have a warm smile on her face.

And that's when Natsu had to hit himself mentally. What did he care if she was smiling or not? Even if she would possibly become his wife one day, she was still the daughter of his enemy, making her his enemy by default. Then again, what if she was pleasant? He didn't think that was very likely. Now that one thing about her was proven true, the likelihood that everything else was accurate was very high.

Still though, she had seen his face for a split second. A small part of him just wanted her to look at him. She wouldn't...

* * *

Dinner was loud, louder than Lucy would've liked. Since she'd come to stay here, she'd been accustomed to eating with just Levy and Erza's company. But now with the King here, everyone in the manor was present at the table, with the obvious exception of the servants. Lucy was feeling sick to her stomach. All the kissing up everyone was doing to Natsu, all the fake laughter. it was all just giving her a headache. But he probably wouldn't let her go. And to make matters worse, no matter who Natsu had been talking to, she could feel his eyes on her the entire time. She never felt so uncomfortable.

It didn't help that her ladies were just as uncomfortable as she was. Levy wouldn't even look up, because in doing so she would easily show how disgusted she was. She was the type to silently fume and Lucy had decided earlier that it was probably for the best. Lucy had heard quite a few things about this man. That his temper was fiery and small things could set it off. In order to keep all of their heads, she'd have to tolerate him for however long he intended to stay here. She prayed it wouldn't be long.

Erza, however, wasn't looking down at all. She was trying to be discreet and to everyone sitting around them, she probably was. But Lucy had known her a very long time. She knew Erza almost better than anyone else, so she definitely caught the looks she was giving the man on Natsu's immediate left. Lucy tried her hardest not to nudge her friend and tease her about it. If there was one thing Erza hated more than anything else, it was being teased. But Lucy shrugged it off. No one else seemed to notice and it was perfectly normal to be staring at a perfectly handsome man from the corner of her eye.

But Erza wasn't much of a concern. Natsu was looking right at her now. She gulped silently and continued to pick at her food. Her appetite was lost. Not like she had much of one to begin with. The food here was unappetizing on a normal day. It was only this delectable because the King was here and even then she could barely touch it. She started playing with the meat left on her plate.

After a few minutes, she was beginning to feel light headed. This wasn't going to end well if she didn't excuse herself immediately. What could she do? She couldn't just get up and leave. That could spell possible consequences that she wasn't prepared for. Consequences she wasn't prepared to let her ladies face either.

"Lady Lucy, are you not feeling well, you're looking extremely pale," Lucy's head was feeling so light that the voice appeared to be coming from miles away. Suddenly all chatter ceased as all eyes turned to stare at her. Her face was starting to turn red from embarrassment, but if it appeared that she was coming down with a fever that was fine too. Anything to get out of there.

"Is she sickly?" she heard someone murmur. No, no she wasn't.

"Perhaps she's been poisoned slowly? Wouldn't surprise me, the King does need to have her out of the way..."another whispered, loud enough for Lucy to hear.

"Shut up, you fool! If the King hears you..." and Lucy stopped listening. She really didn't care. More like she didn't want to care.

"Gray!" she heard Natsu's voice. She turned her head slightly to see Natsu looking right at her. There was no emotion on his face nor in his eyes. No concern for her whatsoever but definitely better than hatred. Well she was safe, she hoped. "Escort Lady Lucy to her rooms. We can't have her fainting in the middle of dinner."

And for the first time that night Levy's head snapped up. "Pardon me, Your Grace, but may I be the one to..." but Natsu held his hand up.

"Gray can do it. You are to stay here. That is an order," his tone had a hint of irritation behind it. Lucy looked over at Levy, the look in her eye ordering to stop protesting. Levy understood right away and silenced herself almost immediately.

"Of course, Your Grace," Lucy looked up a moment later to see a shadow towering over her. She looked up to see the Gray holding out his hand. Like Natsu he had no expression on his face or in his eyes. But if he was escorting her away, she had no problem with that.

* * *

The manor wasn't that big so it wouldn't be too long till she arrived at her chambers. Even so, the walk to her room didn't lapse in the silence that she had hoped for.

"Well don't you seem better," Gray taunted, observing her carefully. She neither pale nor beet red anymore. In fact, she looked as fine as she did this afternoon. Lucy didn't much care for his comment so she ignored it.

"Anything to get away," she mumbled, but the words were coherent enough for Gray to understand. He laughed. And that made Lucy stop walking.

"And just what is so funny?" she demanded. The way it came out, she sounded like a 12 year old who had just said something ridiculous while trying to act like an adult.

Gray shook his head, "Well that was smart of you. Though I will have to tell you, Natsu wasn't fooled for a second. He was well aware that you weren't sick. You just needed to get out of there. Strange, do crowded rooms give make you anxious."

Lucy sighed, "A room full of charmers and kiss ups sickens me to no end. I've always had a sixth sense for sniffing these kinds of things out."

Gray didn't say anything, rather his eyes widened for a second. He was clearly impressed, "Well then, that's a great skill to have I guess."

Lucy rolled her eyes. She wasn't in the mood for whatever Gray was playing. He was closer to the King than anyone in the country. He must've had some inkling as to why he was here, "So why did the King decide grace this decrepit country manner and this fallen princess with his presence?"

The icy, biting sarcasm in Lucy's tone couldn't be more apparent, but Gray found it amusing. He would've told her but, "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to tell you that. Natsu made sure to tell us not to breathe a word to anyone. But I can tell you this, you're not on the chopping block."

Lucy smiled bitterly. While there was a certain relief in finding out that she wasn't going to die, that made things all the more bizarre. "That's...great."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to let Natsu send you to the chopping block. My intended would never forgive me if she found out that I'd allowed her friend to be executed when I had the power to be able to stop it," Gray answered. He smirked inwardly as Lucy's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Your...intended?" were the words that came out.

"Juvia Lockser," was all he had to say to make Lucy turn her head and stare right at him. So many emotions were going through her at that moment. Anger, confusion, sadness, a bit of joy, but a lot of confusion.

Gray felt a bit bad about that, "Yeah, that's why she was called from your service. The situation was getting to precarious for her family. They did what they had to ensure their safety. So they came to me, promising me their daughter and heir's hand, and we spent a few months getting to know each other. Simple as that."

"That's understandable,"she said sadly before regaining her composure. "I hope she makes you happy then."

Gray just chuckled, "Funny thing is, when I met her, she was the most insufferable woman I'd ever met. But..." And at that he blushed. Lucy didn't need hear anymore.

They were swiftly approaching her rooms and before they went back into silence, Gray turned to her and said, "I didn't like her and she didn't like me either. But after I got to know her, I really can't see myself with anyone else. It's strange, but I assume something like that happens to everyone. If you want my advice for if you ever get married, don't completely count the person out until you've gotten to know them. They may surprise you."

And very soon after, she was left on her own in the privacy of her rooms. The words echoed in her head. What was he talking about? Why was he telling her all that. It didn't make any sense. She wondered all the possible reasons as she got herself ready for bed. And even as she got into bed and started drifting off to sleep, the words weren't making much sense. She felt a bit stupid. Normally she was able to figure things like this out. It would continue to bother her until she fully understood what Gray's words really meant. That is if there were any reasons at all...

* * *

Jellal didn't like feasts. In fact, most of the time, if he could help it, he stayed as far away from them. The company of a few people, yes that was what he liked. But unfortunately, being one of the two men that the King trusted, he couldn't avoid them. It was one of the many disadvantages of this position.

But tonight was different, right after the feast, Natsu decided to retire into his chambers. It wasn't like him at all. Usually he would delight in whatever entertainment awaited him afterwards. No, this time he just decided to stay out of the whole thing altogether. While Jellal was slightly concerned, he decided not to worry himself too much with what the King did. He was probably tired and understandably so. He had spent the whole day day riding and being abused by the people whom he was supposedly governing over. Jellal was glad that he wasn't the King for once.

But more than that, he was out of it himself. He had kept his expression deadpan and his voice steady so that no one would notice the amount of turmoil that was going through him since they had arrived. Because there, right in front of him, sat the one young woman. Erza Scarlet. The one person he never thought he'd ever see again. He wasn't even sure if he'd ever wanted to see her again. After everything, there was no way that he knew how to face her. What could he say to her that could make anything better? Nothing. So he ignored her that entire night. He leaned back in his chair, his index and middle fingers rubbing his temples. The sooner that Natsu finished up his business the better it would be for him. He just needed to avoid her.

But it seemed that the heavens and fate wanted to be particularly cruel to him that day. Because the second he decided on that he heard an all to familiar, demanding voice right outside of his door.

"I need to see him. It's urgent," Jellal sighed. Erza hadn't changed. Maybe she was older and definitely a lot more beautiful and calm, but she was still demanding and bossy as ever.

And the second he heard his door open, he knew that he needed to find better guards. Or maybe he needed to tell them specifically that he didn't want them to let anyone else in under any circumstances. Probably both. His guards knew him well enough now. He didn't really have time to think of much else though because Erza was in his room and she'd slammed the door shut.

She had a hardened look on her face. That caught him off guard. That was a look he hadn't seen on Erza in a long time. "You shouldn't be here this late."

Erza narrowed her eyes as scowl made its way to her face, "Thank you for stating the obvious. But I need to talk to you. About a few things actually."

But Jellal wasn't in the mood, "I can't give you the reason as to why we're here. We were ordered not to tell."

Erza huffed. Jellal had definitely changed, "Then can I at least get the guarantee that Lucy will not be harmed in anyway. And by that I mean, you aren't going to execute her are you?"

Jellal shook his head, "He means her no harm. Not now anyway. I can't promise anything for the future. That's really based on how she behaves and on Natsu's whim."

That answer wasn't good enough and Erza wasn't leaving until she got the right one, "What's going on here? All of the sudden he wants to meet with her? He couldn't stop staring at her at dinner in fact he couldn't stop staring the entire time he's been here."

Talking out loud helped her put everything together. The sudden interest in Lucy, the uprisings all over the country, the fact that his attention was focused on Lucy only this whole time, and of course him wanting to meet and talk to her privately. It was all starting to make sense.

It must've shown on her face because Jellal nodded his head and said, "So you've figured it out."

"She'd never agree to that. How could the King even consider such a thing?" Erza shook her head. Lucy was too stubborn and understandably so. This was completely out of the question.

"You're not to tell her. The King is trying to get close to her, to try and get know her a bit better. He's not too thrilled with this either, but the situation is such that this seems to be the only solution," Jellal replied calmly, despite of his massive headache.

But Erza was irritated and not just because of the Lucy situation, "What happened to you?"

Her words weren't above a whisper but Jellal still cringed, "Time happened. I did what I had to."

"Jellal..." were the only words that escaped her lips but he just held up his hand.

"No more of this. You should really head back to your rooms. There's nothing else to talk about. As for the issue of the King and Lady Lucy, it'd be best if you remained quiet about it. I realize that she's your friend, but let things fall into place on their own."

Erza glared at him. He was avoiding the subject intentionally, but he was so adamant about not telling her anything more. She hated that. He used to tell her everything, used to want to see her, now...he wasn't the same person anymore. So though she desperately wanted answers, she knew she wouldn't be getting them tonight. And because for the first time in his life, Jellal had a higher position than her. She just curtsied. He didn't look at her and his facial expression didn't change, but she saw him cringe.

And without another word, she left the room. Jellal could only sigh. Never in his life had he thought that Erza would be curtsying to him. And truth be told, he really disliked it...

* * *

Lucy's movements were severely restricted now that the King was there. But even then, she had to pretend like nothing had change. But she'd be lying if she said that she still wasn't the least bit bothered by Gray's words. She gulped a bit, because she was doing her needle work and her hands were shaking tremendously. And that's really how the day had gone. Natsu had been there a day and still he hadn't requested any private audience with her. It was rather odd and she was growing more and more apprehensive. Something big was coming, she could feel it.

And that's what had her wide awake that night. She was so restless and would continue to be until the King left. And that's when she decided to take a walk in the gardens. She doubted that anyone would really be awake at this time of night and she really needed some space to think. Think and pray. Think of what to do and pray for guidance. That's all she really could do while Natsu was here.

The manor was completely quiet, save for the loud snores of some of the guards who had passed out drunk. Lucy rolled her eyes, how incompetent these men were. If she cared enough for what happened to him, she would've advised Natsu to get better guards and soldiers. It was disgraceful. No wonder the people didn't respect his authority. He really didn't seem to know what he was doing.

The air was cool tonight. And she loved it. Winter was setting in and it didn't get quite too cold in this country. But it was comfortable. And Lucy didn't have to worry about catching a cold. She walked the path that led straight to the garden and she looked right up at the clear sky. It was so beautiful. But the stars were twinkling again, brighter than they had just a few days earlier. She was sure that they were trying to tell her something. That coupled with Gray's words just a day earlier.

"Isn't it a little too late for a lady to be wandering about this late?" Lucy nearly jumped at the voice. It wasn't Erza or any woman's voice. She knew that voice and she flinched as she turned around to come face to face with the King himself.

He was leaning against the manor wall, his arms folded, and he was looking right at her. She couldn't read his face or eyes at all. That made her severely uncomfortable.

But she kept the mask of composure, "And why is the King wandering around so late? Shouldn't he be in the comfort of his own rooms or is his bed not to his liking?"

Lucy knew that the condescending way in which she spoke was probably the worst idea of the night, but Natsu shrugged, "I've slept on worse. I just wasn't tired and didn't particularly feel the need to be entertained tonight."

Lucy didn't say anything, in fact she turned around. She didn't have anything else to say to him.

"Don't you know that it's rude to turn your back on your king?" Natsu mocked, and Lucy felt her face go pink. Not from embarrassment, but from slight fury.

"I know full well. I was once a princess you know and now thanks be to you I'm not," Lucy bit back. She didn't care at the moment. She was getting angrier by the second.

And though Natsu wasn't showing it, he was amused. It seemed like everything that he'd heard about her was true. She was beautiful but she had a bit of a temper and nothing more than a little gentle teasing seemed to bring it out of her. Maybe it was just him though. Either way, he would have his fun.

"I'd tell you to mind your tongue but I doubt that you would. Anyway, I thought that now would be a better time than any to talk to you. You know, the message I sent. I wanted to speak to you privately," Natsu said, finally getting to the point.

Lucy blinked. Now? In the dead of night. With no one to supervise or hear them? She gave him a tiny smirk. Well played King Natsu, well played. But if he was planning on trying anything with her, she knew how to fight back.

"If someone sees us, they will talk. Unless that was your plan all along, to ruin my reputation," she continued to push his buttons. She was as close to her enemy as possible and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it either. That and she had absolutely nothing to lose.

Natsu huffed. Though he couldn't blame the girl for being suspicious, it was getting annoying. He just wanted to talk to her is all. But judging from how she was reacting he probably had to backtrack a bit. He couldn't just propose to her. Not that he wanted to. He'd only been talking to her for 5 minutes at the most and his first impression of her wasn't a good one. But he was never one to go on first impressions. He'd give her a chance. If Gray could find happiness and contentment with a girl he previously disliked, Natsu would be damned if he couldn't do the same. His rule depended on it.

"I would've summoned you to court but that seemed to impersonal. The reason I decided to come here and meet you privately is because I would like to get to know you better..."

* * *

 _I like cliffhangers. Well...I was going to publish this originally on Friday, but I had a lot of stuff happen in my personal life so I couldn't quite get to writing this chapter. Rather finishing it, I started working on it the day after I published the last chapter. And then I decided on last night, but I had to sleep. So I'm doing it today. I had to add the Jerza moment because according to my Tumblr dash, it's Jerza week. And they're my other other Fairy Tail OTP. So why not? Ugh this chapter was a bit of a cluttered mess and I'm sorry I saved the actual NaLu stuff for the very end of the chapter._

 _Okay so a few things. I may publish the Jerza and Gruvia backstories separately in two different stories. They'll sort of be prequels for a lack of a better word for this one. Both will explain what happened before Natsu rose to power and also why he did though the reasons will be touched on in this fic. But those'll go more in-depth. I don't know, what do you guys think? I'll go ahead and do them but opinions are nice._

 _Okay as usual, please review. I love the amount of love all of you have given me for the first two chapters and hope you'll continue to do so. I'll try to get the next chapter up ASAP! :*_

 _— **november-drops**_


	4. Beginnings

**_Disclaimer:_** _I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

 ** _A/n- June 24, 2015:_** _I'm reading those numbers right, right? 56 follows and 31 favorites after just 3 chapters? I love you guys, I really do! Okay I apologize for no updates the last four weeks, I had a lot of issues in my personal life plus I had a lovely case of food poisoning over the weekend so I couldn't get any writing done. Anyway, compensating now! Enjoy!_

 ** _Recap:_** _Things haven't gotten off to a great start for Natsu and Lucy. The two stayed out of each other's way and so far Lucy hasn't been able to find out what Natsu has been here for. Gray hinted at it, but that left Lucy even more puzzled than ever. Finally the two meet in the manor's garden one night and Natsu decides to go about another way of doing things..._

* * *

 ** _Chapter 4: Beginnings_**

* * *

Natsu waited. Lucy's face had betrayed no emotion, but she was staring right at him. A million questions went through her mind but she remained tight lipped. Of all things she had prepared for, the King wanting to get to know her wasn't one of them. In fact, she thought that was the furthest thing from his mind. No there was more to this. But she'd be stupid to out right just ask him, so instead...

"Getting to know me, hm? And why is that? We are sworn enemies after all. What would you have to gain by getting to know me?" Lucy made sure to phrase her words correctly.

Natsu almost smirked. She wasn't stupid surely, but he was a little amused that she hadn't figured his intentions. It may actually be fun then. "Frankly, keeping you as an enemy is rather inconvenient. On one hand, the entire country adores you and I'm supposed to hate you. However, if we got along, governing this country could be a lot more of a pleasant experience for the both of us."

Lucy may have been feeling slow the last few days, but she wasn't stupid. She didn't buy that for a second, "Now that you've gotten that out of your system, what do you really want? There's nothing I can really give you. You've taken my country, my own private lands, my title, and my crown. There's really nothing I can give you. If you really think becoming friendly with me is going to grant you the support of the people, I'm afraid you'll have to think again."

Natsu kept his composure, although it was becoming harder. "I don't see what's so wrong with it? There is one thing you can give me, but before I ask you for it, I'd like to get to know you better. I can command you as your King you know."

Lucy rolled her eyes and tore her eyes off of him for a second. Maybe it was her tired mind, maybe it was the fact that there were a million different things on her mind at the present time. At any rate, she was no longer in the mood of trying to coax the answer out of him. So she frowned and answered, "Very well then..."

Natsu gave her a victory grin and it almost made her want to smack him across the face. He was an arrogant one. And from what Lucy could gather so far, he wasn't a man in the slightest. No he was very much a child still. In a lot of ways, he was kind of like her.

But she slapped that thought out of her head almost as quickly as it had entered. He was nothing like her. He never could be. Still, knowing his intentions would help.

Silence settled over the two again. Lucy had no idea what to say really. Was there anything else left to say? He had just said that he wished to know her better, but it was only to serve himself. She really didn't want to do it, but was she given any other choice? But one thing was sure, getting along with him would no doubt guarantee her survival. She hoped anyway. Even so, it wasn't the ideal option. He was, after all, still her enemy. He could try to get as close to her as possible, but her guard would always be up. She was fine with having her throne taken from her, but he was also the reason that she no longer had a family. She turned slightly and lifted her head to look up at the stars, hoping rather childishly to find the right answer in them.

Natsu only observed her. The second she'd looked up, her expression and overall demeanor seemed to change. She was no longer the suspicious princess who probably hated him with every fiber of her being. She was just a normal girl, childish one could even say. But even so, she looked more beautiful in that very second and he had to remind himself that she was just another girl so he could remember not to hold his breath. But even so, he was still a man. And it was pretty impossible to tear his eyes away.

After what seemed to be hours, Lucy lowered her head and her facial expression seemed to harden once again. Natsu sorely missed the last few minutes now.

"...I should be getting back inside. If anyone sees us together, I'll possibly be ruined and getting to know each other will no longer be a possibility," she said, then waited for his permission. Whether or not she could accept it, he was still her King. She couldn't just walk away from him.

Natsu just nodded his head and continued to lean up against the wall. She gave him a half-hearted curtsey. His head didn't move but his eyes followed her out of the garden. Of course, since her head was completely turned, Natsu couldn't catch the faint blush that appeared on her cheeks.

* * *

Of course Lucy didn't know why she was blushing. He had just been staring at her. And quite unabashedly as well. Had he not been her King, she would've slapped him so hard, he would've felt the pain into he next year. But that wasn't the only reason she hadn't. He wasn't staring at her body like most men did. He was just staring at her face, which was so unlike the man she had heard about.

She had to stop. She couldn't afford to get like this around him. But really the question was, why? Was she seriously embarrassed about being stared at by the King? The words King made her flinch. Maybe that's why. She didn't want him leering at her like that. She didn't even want to be anywhere near him, and yet here she was, agreeing to get to know the man. And why? She was too tired and her mind was ready to collapse as well.

The last year wasn't exactly kind to her for obvious reasons. But besides the obvious, her quick and strong mind had begun to deteriorate slowly but surely. She was by no means weak, but she did not feel as strong as she once was.

She was no stranger to tragedy, even before Natsu showed up. She'd lost her mother at a very young age. She had been old enough to remember her and what she'd been like, but too young to understand anything that had been going on at the time. All she could remember was that her mother took gravely ill, lingered for a good week, and then passed away. Her father had been beside himself and she didn't see him for a few months after that. But it wasn't like she wasn't caught up in her own grieving either. She'd stay up on nights, crying and mumbling things to her mother as if she were there. It helped keep her from falling apart completely.

But lately, that wasn't enough for her. Her mother was just a spirit now, and spirits couldn't talk. They couldn't give advice. She was no longer a little girl in the confines of her palace, she was a woman who'd been thrust out of her position and into a world that wanted her dead. No amount of comfort from spirits and ghosts could save her now.

So maybe that was why she'd agreed to the arrangement. Her thoughts were such a mess and she didn't really know where they were leading. When had she become so indecisive? She didn't know. She knew nothing anymore. And that was truly more scary than anything. But now she had to stop that and start thinking with a clear head. And if getting close to the enemy was going to ensure her survival, well she'd do that too. She wasn't given much of a choice, she didn't have the freedom to refuse. One wrong move and her head would be stuck to the prison gates as a warning. She shuddered at the thought.

Either way, when she lay her head down on the pillow, she was able to sleep with slightly more ease. Of course she knew that her position was both more safe and dangerous at the same time. Safe because Natsu actually wanted her as an ally, but more dangerous because Natsu would probably keep closer tabs on her and one word out of line could, and she thought about this too much, she'd be executed no doubt. She really had to watch herself and what she said from now on even more so than she already had...

* * *

Natsu stayed in the garden before deciding to turn in for the night. He wasn't particularly tired, in face he was quite the opposite. But it was chilly outside, and it wouldn't do him or the country good if he got sick. Small sicknesses could become big ones and Kings had died of simple fevers in the past. Not much had changed. He'd have to do something about that once he was able to get a majority of the country behind him. But for now...

He made his way through the manner and he looked at the guards, most of whom were passed out drunk. He shook his head, disgusted. Something definitely had to be done about that too. How could he get an entire country to respect him if this was the state of his men? He couldn't. Was this how it was all of the time? He found himself frowning. That was humiliating. What was Lucy supposed to think of him if this was the case? Not that her opinion of him really mattered to him, but it definitely mattered to his future. If she didn't agree to be at his side, the future would look bleak indeed. So that alone was enough to motivate him to start changing things around here.

Of course, any chance of Natsu getting any sleep was shattered once again when he found Gray in his rooms when he entered. Natsu couldn't help but frown. If anyone had been awake, the implications of having another man in his rooms this late and one so personally close...

"You need to stop coming in here uninvited, people will talk," Natsu muttered, but in no actual mood to toss Gray out of the room. He may not have been sleepy, but he was too tired to grab Gray and toss him out.

Gray shrugged, "Everyone is well aware of your reputation among the ladies, no one's going to talk."

Natsu shook his head, "You don't know that. It's not like a King never used women as a distraction to what he was really doing. But whatever, in all honesty, I don't care about any of that. A King can do whatever and whoever he wants. But I'm in no mood to discuss this or anything else with you tonight."

"So how'd it go? With Lucy I mean?" Gray switched the subject, completely disregarding the last part of Natsu's sentence.

"Didn't I just say that I don't want to discuss anything with you tonight?" the irritation wasn't even attempted to be hidden. And at this Gray found himself smirking.

"That bad, huh?"

Natsu groaned, "Not bad, she agreed to get to know me. But she was giving me an attitude. I sure as hell wasn't going to ask her to marry me then and there. In fact, I don't think I can ask her that for a very long time."

Gray snorted, "First of all, you don't exactly have all of the time in the world. You have two weeks at most here and then you have to go back. The country is still in pretty bad condition. Second of all, when did you become so spineless?"

"I-What did you just call me?" Natsu's famous fiery temper managed to make its way to the surface, and while it may not have been for anyone else, it was always amusing for Gray. He got him.

"Spineless. Natsu, you've never gotten like this in the face of a challenge. Whatever you set your heart to, you go out and do it and always get what you want. So why is one girl stopping you from doing that now?"

Natsu blinked, "I'm just going slow. She's just really stubborn..."

That was a lie, and Gray knew it. "So were quite a few women whose dresses you managed to get under. Granted she's not a tavern wench or a lowly lady, but I thought you said that you could get any woman with your charms and wit?"

"I was wrong, all right?" Natsu conceded and Gray smirked. Of course Natsu was wrong. Gray didn't need anyone telling him that. But that's not what Gray was trying to get Natsu to say. So he decided to say it.

"You like her, don't you? That's why you're taking your time. She's not just another woman to you is she?"

That certainly caught Natsu off guard, "Like her? We just met..."

"Right, I'm sure that's the reason. I've got to say though, you're definitely luckier than I was," Gray rolled his eyes, suppressing a laugh.

"Gray, just get out of here would you?" Natsu's voice was louder than usual and he was beyond annoyed. But luckily for him, Gray got all of the answers that he needed. But right before he stepped out of the room, he turned his head slightly to look at Natsu.

"Whatever it is, get it resolved soon. You don't have a lot of time and it's not like you can keep coming back here. If you're starting to like her, you better start acting on it. Her slipping through your fingers would be a huge problem."

And then Gray disappeared into the dark hallway, leaving Natsu with a frown. He reached over to his bed and threw a pillow at the doorway. Gray was wrong. He didn't like her. Yes she was beautiful and yes she was not as difficult as he thought, but whether or not he liked her was no longer the issue. In his stubbornness he had said that he wouldn't marry a woman that he couldn't stand. Well, he could stand her just fine. And she was beautiful which was a bonus. But his personal feelings no longer mattered. Seeing how all of the villagers and country folk had reacted, he knew that there would be no one else he could possibly take as his bride. This was all political. If at the end of two weeks he couldn't get her to like him even a little, he'd have to make due and tell her his intentions. And he'd make her agree as her life very well depended on it. He hated it though. He didn't like forcing her into this much less himself, but as a King who had a country to think about, there was nothing he could really do. Even as a King, he didn't have the power to do as he pleased.

But as he plopped down on the bed, his arms behind his head and his legs crossed, he looked up at the canopy of the bed and started thinking. Was he starting to like her? Or did he just find her beautiful. Or maybe it was both? And if that was the case, it was problematic especially in his situation. He couldn't afford to get swept up in his emotions. He closed his eyes, trying to forget every problem that he had to deal with until the morning.

* * *

Lucy hated being woken up. She preferred to rise on her own and that wasn't a problem because she was an early riser and usually up before anyone else. But today, she didn't feel like leaving her her bed. Her joints and muscles were particularly stiff from sleeping so late and she had a terrible headache in any case. But that wasn't going to be a good enough excuse. She was simply sleep deprived.

She opened her tired eyes to see a couple of maids holding a rather lovely dress that made her eyes pop right open. It was light blue, sky blue to be exact. It was fashionably low cut with blue floral pattern on the corset. Lucy hadn't seen a dress that beautiful in a very long time.

"The King requests to have breakfast privately with you in his chambers this morning and he also requests that you wear this dress," one of the maids said, her tone was flat and uncaring. Lucy sat up in bed and kept staring at the dress. She didn't know which part to react to. The fact that Natsu wanted to privately spend time with her and in his chambers of all places or the fact that he wanted her to wear this ridiculously beautiful dress just to eat breakfast with him. She was beginning to see where he was going with this, and she couldn't say that she liked it. In fact, it made her quite uncomfortable.

"We've been ordered to get you ready as well," she added and Lucy frowned.

"Where are my la-I mean my friends?"

"They're having breakfast with the rest of the King's Court. Now get up, the King will not be happy if you're late. He's very busy," the maid said, the hostility in her voice was more than clear so instead of being difficult she got right out of bed as she was told.

After an hour of getting her to bathe, trying to get the dress on, brushing or rather yanking her hair and fluffing her enough to look presentable to the King. Lucy looked in the mirror and frowned. Not because she didn't think that she looked fine, but because of all the memories it was bringing back. But she didn't have the time or opportunity to immerse herself in nostalgia because before she knew it, she was in front of the King's chambers. She gulped, praying that she wouldn't mess this up. She needed to get this over with, please the King with whatever he asked her, and then leave. That's all she had to do. And breathe, she needed to breathe normally. It was frustrating. Being this nervous wouldn't do.

But there was no more time to think. The doors opened and she was led inside. Natsu was already sitting at the table, a smile on his face. The smile was incredibly forced though, Lucy didn't need to look for more than a few seconds to get that reading. She was soon seated directly across from him.

"Leave us!" he commanded the servants and before the minute was gone, Natsu and Lucy were the only ones left in the room. The atmosphere was tense as it was, but now it was even more so. Both were looking everywhere but at each other. Lucy picked up her fork slowly and started playing with the items on her plate, wondering what to say if she should say anything at all. Natsu just looked around the room, anywhere that wasn't directly at her. It was frustrating, they were perfectly content talking just last night. There was no pressure. But now both were feeling all the pressure. Lucy was frustrated because usually she could take a man but apparently not him. And Natsu? Normally talking to a woman was no problem, in fact he had a reputation as quite the ladies man, but Lucy had gotten him to feel a virginal 12 year old all over again who had no idea how to approach a lady.

"So I heard that you like to draw?" Natsu said, finally breaking the minutes of awkward silence. Lucy looked up from her food which she had been playing with unappetizingly. So he really wanted to try and get to know her? That wasn't just a pretense with an ulterior motive?

"Yes I do. Whenever I can, it's a great method of relaxation and serves as comfort as well," she answered, keeping her answer short and polite. Surely that was good enough, right?

"I would like to see some of your drawings sometime," he said gently, but it sounded more like an unsure question. Again that surprised Lucy. No one but Erza and Levy had even taken even remote interest in her drawings. Well, not since her mother anyway. Natsu was the first. And a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. Maybe this wouldn't be such a bad experience after all.

Natsu must've sensed her confusion because he answered with, "I've always had a great appreciation for art. It's a sort of comfort and relaxation tool for me as work."

It was then that Lucy gave him a small smile. Small, but genuine. And Natsu savored it because her smile was breathtakingly beautiful. Literally, he had to remind himself to breathe. Maybe she had done it completely unintentionally, but he stared for a good few seconds in order to ensure that he could commit her smile to memory. As sad as her life had been, he didn't know when he'd be seeing that again.

But then the earlier shyness and nervousness returned and he looked back down at his plate. His stomach dropped and his appetite deserted him as a slow and unpleasant realization dawned on him...

Perhaps Gray had been right after all...

* * *

 _Okay guys, I'm so sorry this chapter took a while to crank out. It's Ramadan so I don't have nearly as much energy to write as usual. And before now I had some personal stuff to deal with. Also my laptop has a ton of viruses (thanks dad -_-) and writing is a wee bit difficult so I'm stuck writing on the library computer and my iPhone (which is actually kind of annoyingly difficult) for the time being. But I'll try to update every few weeks or month at the most. know this chapter wasn't terribly exciting. Also the other characters will start appearing again but right now everything is NaLu centric. Anyway, while I wasn't writing I got a few more ideas as to how our lovely pair here come together. Excited! All right, see you next time! As usual leave a review? :*_

 **— _november-drops_**


	5. Tangled Minds

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Fairy Tail_ _or any of its characters._

 ** _A/n- July 31/August 1, 2015:_** _It's been a busy summer. I had guests all month, then there was Ramadan, then half way through Ramadan I got really sick (I'm still sick 4 weeks later), then Eid, and then finally my cousin's wedding. So I've been way too busy to write. Luckily, I've finally g_ _otten some time to sit down and write. So here we are. I'm going to progress this a little more in this chapter, I know it's been slow. Here we go!_

 _ **Warning:** An OOC Natsu at the end threatening something that he doesn't actually mean or intend on doing but it's still a TW. Again this is a medievalesque story so men did have a tendency to do this by many accounts I've read. I'm sorry once again. _

**_Recap:_** _Natsu and Lucy are conflicted about the whole situation, but nevertheless agree to get to know one another. But Natsu knows that he doesn't have a lot of time and finally comes to terms wit_ _h the fact that only Lucy can secure a peaceful reign. But as they converse, both realize just how uncomfortable they are with their growing feelings..._

* * *

 ** _Chapter 5: Tangled Minds_**

* * *

The day wasn't particularly eventful. Lucy had confined herself to her room, deciding that she wanted to spend the day drawing. For some reason, ever since Natsu had told her that he had an appreciation for the arts, all she seemed to want to do was draw. And draw something nice as well. She couldn't really fathom why. But she swatted the thought out of her mind. If she kept dwelling on it, her thoughts would go to a place that she didn't want them to be. She had been absentmindedly sketching today, however, and when she looked down she found that she had drawn a man. A man who looked suspiciously like Natsu. She bit down on her lip as she crumpled up the page and threw it into the nearby fireplace.

"Get yourself together Lucy, what would people say if they saw that," she mumbled to herself as she started sketching the scene before her.

Just as she was beginning, she heard someone knocking on her door. There were only two people around here who even bothered to do that, so she hollered, "Come in!"

And sure enough, it was Levy. She quietly closed the door, walked over to where Lucy was. Even though Lucy had told her countless times that she shouldn't anymore, she dropped low into a curtsy. Lucy sighed, she wasn't going to tell her anymore as she knew that she wouldn't listen anyway. Lucy motioned to the chair across from her and Levy promptly sat down. Several minutes elapsed in silence.

Finally Lucy looked up from her sketching, "Was there something you needed Levy?"

Levy shook her head, "No, you've just been rather withdrawn today is all. They said you were in your room, so I thought you might need some company."

Lucy smiled at Levy's thoughtfulness. "I'm sorry. I just felt like sketching today. The number of people in the manor is making my head ache."

Levy looked down at Lucy's sketch, "You started over, or have you drawn one line this whole time."

Lucy blinked and looked down at her "sketch", she'd only drawn over the same line over and over again. She frowned and blushed embarrassed. "I was...just starting over..."

Levy chuckled at the blush, "Started over? That's really not like you. You always finish what you start. What's troubling you?"

Lucy mentally cursed Levy, she knew her too well. Or was she just that easy to read? She sincerely hoped it was the first one. She found herself sighing, "Nothing, I'm just rather restless with the situation."

"Hm, and would this particular situation be a certain pink haired King?" she asked in a feigned innocent tone. Lucy scowled. Normally, Levy teasing her was something she craved as it had become so rare, but not on this particular topic.

"Levy..."her voice was low and dangerous and Levy took that as a sign to immediately drop the teasing.

"You know Princess, you've seemed very distracted since your breakfast with him. I may be overstepping my boundaries here, but there is nothing wrong with accepting having feel-," Levy approached the subject slowly only to be cut off.

"You are overstepping a bit there, but no, everything is wrong with developing feelings for him. Not only do we have differing stations in life, but he killed my father and usurped his throne," Lucy replied, her tone was icy and she found herself biting the inside of her cheek.

Levy shook her head, "Love isn't something one can control. If it happens, it happens."

Lucy held up her hand, "Stop it. I barely know him, in fact I'm not even sure if I can even grow to like him. Love is impossible between us. Besides, why would he even think of falling in love with me? I'm just a lowly lady, stripped of her title. I'd be lucky to even marry a lowly baron. Actually I'm even lucky to still have my head. And falling in love with the King, who is a known rake* and ladies man? I wouldn't be surprised if he was just using this opportunity toget to know me as a way to disgrace me. I'm not letting that happen."

But Levy knew Lucy way better than that. So she decided to try just one last time. "You've convinced your mind of that. But can you convince your heart of that?"

Lucy narrowed her eyes. Her annoyance was poorly concealed. "There's nothing in my heart. Not for anyone, least of all him. He'll never have a place. After he killed my father, I really have no heart left to give..."

Levy didn't say anymore but she carefully watched Lucy as she furiously sketched. Her eyes, however, from what Levy could see told her everything she needed to know. Lucy's mind was tangled, it had been that way since she was forced away from everything she knew. Now even more so. But the part about her not having a heart left to live? That was a lie. She very much had a heart, but it was terribly broken. And as Levy leaned back in her chair, she wondered if the King she had spent the last many months hating for the things he'd done especially to Lucy, could heal her heart. It seemed odd and unlikely, but the last few months had shown her that life was full of surprises...whether pleasant or not.

* * *

If Natsu could've announced that he was sick, that truly would've been great. But he couldn't, because though he was technically on holiday, he was still the King. But as hard as he tried to concentrate on the matters at hand, Lucy managed to creep her way into his thoughts. He tried to swat those thoughts away, but he was only successful for a time. And in truth, he was beginning to feel rather disgusted with himself.

His reputation as a man who could not be held down by a wife or family was notorious. And if he could help it, marriage wouldn't even be a concern. He was the type to spend the night with a different woman, and loyalty to just one seemed insufferable. Granted he was a King and having wife was only political and he could really bed any woman he'd like, but that wasn't the problem. He was actually starting to like Lucy and that itself was dangerous. Whether or not she became his wife, she was still a threat to him. Falling in love with her would do him no good. He'd seen how much love could make a fool out of a man and he was not about to be one. No, things needed to stay friendly at best. Everything was still political.

If someone asked him what was discussed today, he wouldn't be able to give an answer. He was too lost in his thoughts. And that's all he could think about as he slouched in his chair. So much to think about, and so very few ways as to deal with them. What he should've been thinking about was how to get the general public to look on at him as someone who deserved to rule them, how to get the country to come back up from it's pitiful economic state, and of course how to be a good King. But no, the only thing occupying his mind now was a certain blonde.

He sank even further into the chair until he was practically on the ground. He lifted his head until he was looking at the ceiling and growling at it, as if growling to God Himself. "Why is this the only solution you've presented me with? The whole point of taking the throne was so that a Heartfilia couldn't run this country any further into the ground. And yet here I am, trying to convince my sworn enemy's, who I killed with my own hands, daughter to marry me and rule by my side."

He hated this so much. He hated everything at this very moment. And he especially hated that bastard Gray for talking him into this. Because the more he thought about it, trying to fall in love with anyone was a troublesome affair. Love didn't work like that, and even if he got Lucy to even miraculously look his way with interest, it would surely take longer than the time he alotted himself. It was a loss for him. He almost wished that Lucy was just another girl, one he could charm and have for one night. But even then, he stopped denying that she wouldn't just be a one night love. For some reason, this girl stayed lodged in his mind.

"Damn you Lucy Heartfilia. I should've executed you when I had the chance. I could've forced the people to accept me and then you wouldn't have..." he couldn't bring himself to say it out loud.

Things had been going reasonably well between them. Awkward, but well. And Natsu couldn't hate it any more than he already did. Every time he found himself alone with her, all of the mental preparation had gone right out the window. He found himself bumbling like a fool, it was as if he'd never talked to a woman before. Nothing disturbed him more. It was strictly politics here, he couldn't act like a lovesick boy. He was the King damn it! And some young girl was getting close enough to him without exerting any effort. And he was fairly certain that she wasn't even trying to do that. He knew that she was probably even less enthusiastic about spending time with him than she was him.

But still, he couldn't help but think back to their conversation about her drawing. How he'd wanted to see some of her art and how much he admired the arts. He didn't dare tell her how eager that made him. Because he himself how eager it had made him. And what horrified him even more, was that part of him wanted her to like him. If not as a lover and a potential husband, at least as a friend. But the logical part of him quickly slapped that part of him. His mind was so tangled and his heart?

Only he knew how much he didn't want to think about his heart because much to his disgust, he was losing control over it...

* * *

Dinner was an awkward affair, putting it mildly. Anyone who had just come to the manor could feel how thick with tension the atmosphere was. Lucy kept her eyes firmly on her food, although not much of it was getting in her mouth. Natsu was trying to keep himself from leaving the table or scowling at Gray who kept smirking at him. And he was desperately trying not to stare at Lucy. His efforts were futile on the latter. Erza kept much to herself and wasn't very talkative. In fact, Levy and Lucy hadn't seen much of her in the past few days. They'd already been here a week, and not once had they seen her. Meanwhile Levy was trying not to nudge Lucy to eat more than she was.

And the silence of the meal was immediately shattered when Jellal, proposed a toast to the King. Anyone who mattered only raised their cups half heartedly. All except Gray, who was having an especially fun time with this. Lucy had to admit, she wasn't particularly fond of him. But she figured she had to tolerate him since he was betrothed to her dear friend. There was still so much she had to tolerate for the sake of the few people she still cared for.

And for the first time since the meal had begun, she coyly shifted her gaze to Natsu. He was eyeing her as well, and she was feeling very self conscious all of the sudden. She hated herself in that moment for that. Why did it matter what he thought? No matter how civil and arguably he was being to her, his reputation preceded him. And to her, it was all starting to make sense.

Even if he had denied it before, she wasn't a fool. He was the King or at least he was trying to be. If he had her just once, she'd be ruined and then any chance of her reclaiming her throne would be ruined. Not that she was even considering even trying. But she knew that well enough and she was more than certain that he knew that as well. This was the cleanest way for him to knock her of off the line of succession. But her virtue and dignity were the only things she could really call her own and if she gave into Natsu even a little bit, she'd lose them both. And there was no chance in Hell that she would let that happen.

Suddenly Natsu stood up, raising his cup. His eyes were directly on her.

"A toast. To the Lady Lucy Heartfilia!" He smiled at her. It seemed incredibly forced.

What was he doing?! Lucy raised her cup along with the rest at the table. But it took all of her self control not to scowl at him. Even if it was a sign of great honor, Lucy couldn't help but feel the most humiliated she had in her whole life...

* * *

The humiliation definitely didn't wash off that night while she was bathing in the privacy of her room. The bath water itself was lukewarm, but it felt like a hot spring from how hot her anger had made her.

What was he up to?

He was only further confirming her suspicions. Lucy wasn't a stupid girl by a long shot. She knew very well how this worked. She had seen how her father was. She couldn't deny that her mother had the great love of her father's life. But being King, very often away from his wife, and extremely stress, he always needed a bit of a stress relief. And with all the nobles parading their beautiful daughters around, of course he fell to his temptations every now and again. Her mother understood this very well but chose to turn the other cheek. Lucy never knew if her mother was ever hurt by her father's actions, the woman was skilled in masking her emotions. A skill that had thus far eluded Lucy. Part of her felt it did, but she did nothing about it. All of her sincerely hoped that there were men out there, whether near or far from their wives, that couldn't even look at another woman much less take one into their beds. Her father, unfortunately, was not one of them. But he had had significantly less mistresses than most kings before him. She wondered how those women had felt being bedded and used to alleviate the lonely nights by a man who was known for the great love he held for his wife.

And Natsu was definitely not one of them. Every woman to him seemed to be a one night love. And she refused to be one of them. She had a week left until he left. She could surely hold him off until then.

But just as she was beginning to find solace in those thoughts she heard Levy's voice, "But Your Majesty, she requested to be alone this evening!"

"And I am the King. I wish to see her. Her personal wishes are of no concern to me, so either you'll move out of the way or I'll shove you aside. Either way, you have two seconds to decide!" Natsu was practically growling at this point. Why was he so angry?

But Lucy didn't have the luxury of thinking anything beyond that. Because the door flew open and promptly closed. And then she was face to face with Natsu.

Natsu froze as his eyes widened at the sight of her. She was in a tub, carried into the room every night probably. The water's surface was clear and her breasts were plump enough that he could see the tops of them floating above the surface. He couldn't help but leer at what he considered to be a heavenly sight.

Lucy's body turned a deep shade of red as she was trying her best not to scream. However the way he was looking at her at the moment, was too much.

"So," her icy tone was enough to snap Natsu out of it. "I see that I was right all along."

 _'Shut up Lucy, you'll make things worse for yourself!'_

Unfortunately for her this time, she didn't listen to her conscience.

Natsu was confused, but the look he gave off was irritation, "Right about what exactly?"

Lucy rolled her eyes before scowling at him, "The reason for your visit. Why you suddenly care to get to know me, why you took a sudden liking to my hobby of drawing. Did you really think I wouldn't figure it out?"

Natsu stood there, at a loss for words. She really wasn't a stupid girl if she had figured it out. And judging from her tone, her answer wasn't going to be in his favor.

"I'm not a tavern wench and I'm certainly not a light hearted girl. Did you really think that a few sweet words would make me throw myself at you. I can't say anything about the girls you have taken into your bed, but I promise you that I am not one of them!" her voice rose as she spoke even though she was fairly certain that the entire manor could hear her. But she did not care.

Natsu stared at her incredulously for what seemed to be an eternity. Part of him was relieved that she hadn't really figured out his true intentions, but the emotionally charged part of him took over and he became enraged.

"Well aren't you the arrogant one? Now why would I take the time to actually try and seduce you. I've never had to wait more than a few hours. I could take you right now if I wished. I am the King, I could have any woman I want!"

Lucy's eyes widened in horror at his threat, "You wouldn't dare..."

In truth Natsu wouldn't. He knew better than that and he would never just take a woman unwillingly. Nor would he actually threaten one like this but he wasn't thinking straight at the moment. He was already aggravated and now he was enraged. He would probably kick himself for saying such a thing later...

"Oh and who's going to stop me, hm?" he sneered, taking a step forward. Lucy was, in truth, very frightened at the moment. This wasn't happening. He wouldn't, would he?

Natsu was about to take another step forward but he stopped when he saw the look in her eyes. It was a look he had only seen once before, and it was a memory he didn't particularly ever want to think about. A frightened doe was the best way one could describe it and almost immediately it felt like someone had reached into his chest and squeezed his heart until it popped. What was he doing?

He swiftly turned around and Lucy felt herself relax only slightly. But she was still tense, confused at what was going on.

"DAMN IT!" he screamed, punching the wall and leaving a very noticeable dent in it before leaving the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

And the second the door slammed shut, Lucy felt the water grow ice cold...

* * *

 _*A rake is a playboy for those of you who didn't know._

 _Yes yes I know that last part was very out of character for Natsu and in truth I hated writing it, but I literally wrote it so I could set up the next chapter. And yes a lot will happen next chapter and it'll certainly be a lot longer than this one. Again I'm so sorry for that. Please don't hate me for it. Okay anyway, I'll try updating ASAP, but I'll be in Texas for a week but I'll get some of the next chapter done before then and while I'm there. Anyway, that's it for now! As per usual leave a review? Thanks loves! :*_

 **— _november-drops_**


	6. In The Palm of His Hand

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

 _ **A/n- October 1, 2015:**_ _Yo! First of all I'd like to apologize for the delay of this chapter. August was a hectic month, with travel the first half and school starting the second half. And I've been really sick the last two months, so I have almost no energy and now that school's started I'm busier than ever. Second of all, I'm excited for this chapter. This is one I've wanted to write for a while. The story is, well planned for now, going to be 15-20 chapters. It could be more or less. I don't know, I'll have to see if any more plot beyond what's planned develops. Till then let's enjoy!  
_

 _ **Recap:**_ _Growing feelings for Natsu and Lucy have made the two increasingly uncomfortable with each other. They can't get the other out of their heads. Finally it reaches a boiling point when Natsu barges into Lucy's room as she's bathing..._

* * *

 ** _Chapter 6: In The Palm of His Hand_**

* * *

Lucy intuitively knew that she wasn't going to sleep a wink tonight. Or any night after as long as _he_ was here. She never remembered being so frightened in her life. Not even when he took her throne and birthright nor when he killed her father, resulting in many nights wondering what would happen to her. No, she was legitimately scared now. But she found herself equally confused. He'd been so gentle with her before. Alright, not gentle, but he made an effort to get along with her. And though she was still convinced that all he wanted was to ruin her, part of her was starting to doubt that.

And she found her chest growing unbearably heavy and tight.

 _'Breathe Lucy, breathe,'_ she repeated to herself. But it was hard to. She knew in her heart that he wasn't really going to hurt her, but for some reason it was actually scaring her that he would even threaten it. And she dared to think for a second that it was actually hurting her.

She kept tossing and turning, her eyelids growing heavy and her limbs began aching, but she couldn't sleep. Her eyes kept flying to the door, half expecting the door to fly open to reveal the form of an angry Natsu. She immediately drove those thoughts out faster than they'd come. If she dwelled on it any more, she'd lose all the courage she'd worked on building since she had been toppled from her position. She'd have to keep her head up high, even if Natsu would try to hammer her down, she couldn't give into any fear.

But the doubts that had streamed into her head since their rather unfortunate encounter was only succeeded in making her apprehension rise. She felt tears threatening to form, but she tried her hardest not to let them fall. Unfortunately that didn't work. And Lucy was exhausted. All of the pent up rage, sadness, and pain that had built up over the past 6 months burst out. She buried her face deep into the pillow so that it would muffle the loud sobs. She was glad that no one was around or awake to hear her cry. She knew that they would either mock her or try to comfort her. In all honesty she didn't desire any of it.

Lucy, despite her reputation, preferred solitude. Especially when it came to her emotions because from a young age she had learned to express them as little as possible. All of her life she'd been in a dangerous position and the slightest hint of weakness could prove fatal. Especially now.

Even so, there was a part of her that cursed herself for talking out of turn. Sure she wasn't about to let his position as King intimidate her into giving him whatever he desired, but that didn't mean she could speak to him like that. She felt no loyalty towards him, but nothing mattered when her life was at his mercy. Not only that, she didn't even think about Levy and Erza. They were the only friends she had left at her side. If she got herself executed, what would happen to them? A strangled sobbed escaped her lips unchecked as she shuddered at the thought. No. She had to think about them as well. If she wanted to protect them as well as herself, she had to behave. And if that meant tolerating the man she currently loathed, she'd do it.

But just in case that didn't work, she needed a contingency plan. Something to ensure that Levy and Erza's safety would be ensured in case Natsu decided that leaving her alive was too much of a nuisance. Then her sobbing ceased as she thought back to her dear friend, Juvia. Another one of her loyal ladies, who was now currently betrothed to the King's right hand man. Yes, that was it. Even though she loathed the idea of forcing her dear friends into unions that they possibly wouldn't be happy with, it was now seemingly the only way. All she had to do was make it up to the King in any way that she could and convince him that they were good enough for the noblemen that he surrounded himself with. She couldn't be selfish anymore.

And that was when she started to wonder, if this was the line of thinking that everyone who had ever tried to protect her had had...

* * *

Natsu had had a little too much wine that night. Even then, wine wasn't enough to drown his frustrations. If anything, even with all of the alcohol in his system, he felt himself growing angrier and angrier. Damn that girl! Who the hell did she think she was? She was in no position whatsoever to tell him what he could or couldn't do! Especially when it came to her. Didn't she understand that he could very well have her executed on a whim. And with his fiery temper, he didn't put it past himself to order it at this very moment.

But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to. The look in her eye, the look of a scared animal ready to bolt but paralyzed with fear was a look he knew all too well. The memory of it was what angered him the most. He hated that look more than anything. And to see it on the look of the woman he was trying to make his wife, infuriated him even more. Especially when she was still his sworn enemy. No one had ever made his blood boil. Honestly he couldn't figure out how she made him feel. A few days ago he was sure that he was starting to take a liking to her. That had all gone out the window with her accusations just a short while ago. Now he didn't know.

All he knew was that he was angry. And this anger was, he was sure, all because of her. He would have to punish her. There was no way he was going to let her get away with this. How would his subjects view him if he couldn't even put one woman in her place? Punishment was in order and he knew the perfect way to do it as well.

He leaned back and an almost mischievous look came across his slightly drunken face. The Kingly part of him would've condemned the idea he had, but tonight the childish part of him was winning over. Maybe it was the copious amount of wine he had consumed that had given him such an idea, but he knew he that he liked the idea too much. Oh yes, she'd never cross him again.

He drunkenly walked over to his balcony and though he couldn't see it all that well, the country stretched for miles and miles beyond the horizon. And if he squinted a little bit more he could see rain and storm clouds gathering in the horizon. His wicked grin grew even more. Ah yes, tomorrow was definitely going to be fun...

* * *

Jellal was in his bedroom sitting in front of the fire. Unlike most men probably, Jellal didn't like wine or alcohol all that much. He only drank it if there was nothing else or if the occasion demanded it. But these days, it seemed that he needed at least one glass of it before retiring. Erza constantly being around him had that effect on him. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, but it brought back a lot of memories and feelings. Ones that he wasn't ready to deal with again. Plus the wine helped him sleep, otherwise he'd be up all night, just thinking about her.

But he wasn't tired at all tonight and the wine wasn't helping. So he slumped in his chair and stared at the fire. There was a dull ache in his head and it didn't seem to want to go away anytime soon. 3 cups of strong wine tended to do that to a person.

His eyes moved to the door to see Gray coming in. He didn't look smug as usual. In fact, he had a serious look on his face. That was never a good sign.

"What are you doing up? More importantly why are you here?" he mumbled, taking another sip of wine.

Gray sunk into a chair beside him and sighed. For the first few moments nothing was said. Finally Gray said, "There are storm clouds."

Jellal rolled his eyes, "What? Are you afraid of a little thunder?" Jellal couldn't help but scoff at the thought. Gray seemed like the kind of person who wasn't fazed by anything.

Gray snorted, "Indeed. No it just makes me think of...somethings is all."

"Somethings? Or someone?" Jellal wasn't stupid. He may have had zero experience when it came to women and love, but he could recognize the signs almost right away. That and Gray was the only one of them who was to be married soon. He hadn't thought of Gray as the kind of man to stay up at night with the thoughts of one woman. His reputation was almost as scandalous as the King's.

Gray's cheeks turned a light shade of pink. He didn't say anything but he wasn't denying it, he took that as a sign of confirmation.

No one said anything. That was until the door opened once more to reveal Erza and Levy. Jellal was trying his best not to show his irritation. It was nighttime. He wished to be alone. And everyone suddenly coming in wasn't helping his irritation and sleep deprivation. And it wouldn't help the girl's reputations if they were spotted in a man's room so late at night. He couldn't tell Gray to get lost, but he could order the girls to.

"No, go back to your rooms. I said we'd talk more tomorrow," he ordered quietly, but Erza stayed in place and so did Levy.

"We couldn't sleep and we need to talk. This is serious. Something's happened and Lucy won't let anyone into her room at all," Levy's tone was one of panic, but the men said nothing.

"The King was seen leaving her room, looking quite beside himself," Erza added and that definitely caught their attention.

Gray, especially, looked interested. "He went into her room? During the night?"

Jellal pretended not to look interested, but he was curious. Curious as to why the King would be so furious leaving her room and why she refused to let anyone in. But the first part may have very well been a rumor. "The maids like to gossip. It's probably not true."

"Natsu DID refuse to let me in, which is why I came here," Gray said, turning to Jellal. He could believe it now.

"Now when has him refusing you entry ever stopped you from barging in?" Jellal pointed out, trying to think of one time Gray had ever listened to Natsu about this and unable to think of a single time.

"Never, but he was incensed. I didn't want to risk losing my head for disobedience this time."

Now that was definitely not normal. Yes Natsu was known for his fiery temper and his ruthlessness wasn't anything new. What was new was the kind of rage that he had that he couldn't even confide in Gray. No matter what it was and no matter how much they drove each other mad, Natsu always confided in Gray. No exceptions.

"Well if he threatened to have your head just for doing what you always do, it would be quite foolish for anyone else to bother him tonight. As for the Heartfilia girl, is it normal for her to restrict anyone from coming into her room? She has no authority over anyone in the household, so I wouldn't imagine so," he inquired. Not that he had much of an interest in checking up on the girl. His only concern was that Natsu do what he had to so he could get back to the capital as soon as possible.

"Sometimes she wishes to sleep alone. But she's never outright told servants or anyone else to stay away from her rooms. She also locked the door from the inside. She's never done something like that," Levy responded. She was speaking too fast and Jellal almost didn't catch what she said.

"Do you think we should...?" Erza was looking right at Jellal. He wanted to scowl at her for putting her on the spot like that.

"No, leave her be for tonight. It could just be that she and Natsu got into some sort of spat and they're both cooling off," Gray said, after thinking about it for a moment. He was trying his best not to smirk. Natsu was getting so worked up over a girl? Once everything settled, Gray would never leave Natsu alone about this.

Gray wasn't smiling and no emotion betrayed him, but the air around him lightened and relaxed and everyone felt it. Everyone looked at him, irritated that he seemed so relaxed at a time where there was a girl locked in her room and an enraged King on the premise. "Don't worry, things will indeed settle. It's only a matter of time. Trust me."

No one did. But everyone was much too tired to argue about it. Jellal was annoyed that he was becoming sleepy from all this nonsense. He was definitely sticking to wine from now on...

* * *

The rain came heavy that day. Doors and windows had to be shut and every single fireplace was lit. Even so, the noise from outside didn't help very much. Natsu, however, couldn't be happier with the current weather conditions.

"You can't be serious. You'll become gravely ill if you ride out now!" Jellal's exasperated voice was loud enough to make every single person within earshot turn their heads.

Natsu just shrugged, "I've ridden out in worse conditions without getting sick. In any case, I'd like to spend some more time with Lucy."

He made sure that Lucy heard him loud and clear, as he emphasized every single syllable. Lucy, who had been sketching something, froze and dropped everything in her hands. She glanced at the almost violent storm outside. She blanched. He couldn't be serious. Had she angered him so much? He couldn't possibly mean this. Going out there in this weather was a death sentence!

"Has the King gone mad? No Princess, he won't have his way with this!" Erza promised, coming in front of her as if to shield her from the King's wrath. Had Lucy not been trembling she would've smiled.

"Exactly. There's a limit to how much you should tolerate Lucy. If he wants to be unreasonable, so will we. He's not taking you out in this storm. There's no way we'll allow it!" Levy joined Erza and stood there.

"Natsu, be reasonable! Even if you've built resistence she hasn't! She could die if she falls ill!" Gray's frantic voice could be heard from across the hall. Lucy swallowed thickly. If Gray was panicked, then...

"She's coming riding with me, that's final. If anyone stands in my way, I'll imprison them," Natsu growled. He wasn't in the mood for negotiation clearly.

"The King's gone mad," one of the maids whispered, trying and failing not to be heard. Everyone, even the ones who had treated her quite coldly during her time there, sent sympathetic looks her way. Apparently, even they thought she was undeserving of this.

"Lucy!" the King stood right in front of them now. Erza and Levy were in the way. "Move aside!"

"With all due respect, _sire_ ," Lucy found herself cringing at Erza's biting tone, "but the weather is terrible outside. She's not accustomed to riding out in weather like this."

"She could fall gravely ill. It would be cruel of you to force her to go," Levy added, her tone fiercer and rougher than Lucy could recall it ever being.

"She can start building her strength then. But I wish to ride out with her today. Riding out in this kind of weather will be good for her. Now move aside, or imprisonment is the best you'll be able to hope for," Natsu growled.

Lucy stood up. Fine if that's how he wanted to play, she would. But she was not about to let her ladies risk losing their heads for something as trivial as this. If he wanted to watch her suffer, then for their sake she would. "It all right girls. If the King wills it, then I'll go."

The room grew quiet with all disbelieving eyes on Lucy. They knew that she couldn't disobey the King, but she had to be either very brave or very foolish to agree to this. Even Gray and Jellal stared at her incredulously. Natsu grinned in triumph. However her ladies had the worst reaction.

"Lucy, you-," both girls cried simultaneously, horrified expressions etched on their lovely faces. But Lucy put her hands up to silence them.

"If the King wills it, who are we to defy him?" was her reply to them. The girls instantly grew silent when they saw the wary look on their Princess's face. Their hearts could've broken at the sight.

"Very well, let me just grab-," she started only to be cut off by Natsu almost immediately.

"Just go in what you're wearing, you'll be fine."

Everyone just stared at the King as if he had lost it. Even Lucy stared at him, completely dumbfounded by what he had just said. She came back to her senses and sighed defeatedly.

"Very well..."

As she followed Natsu out, she could hear whispers.

"The King's gone mad. Poor girl."

"He's leading her to her death. She's a fool if she couldn't sweet talk her way out of it, such a shame..."

Lucy stared at the stone floor. Was she truly a fool for agreeing to this?

* * *

Lucy found her answer very quickly. Natsu rode out rather quickly and Lucy struggled to keep up with him. He had given her a very old horse, one that would've struggled even in kinder weather. This was definitely a punishment for her words the previous night. Natsu didn't even bother glancing back at her, he just continued to ride down the country road.

The rain and the high speed winds were blinding her vision and her thin fabric dress was completely drenched. This was the thickest, warmest dress she currently owned. All of her heavier gowns had been destroyed when she lost her throne. She was shivering and she wanted nothing more to ride back to the castle and snuggle by the fire while sipping hot tea.

But as if he had known what she was thinking he called out, "We're not going back just yet! Just a little further, do you think you can do it?"

His tone was completely condescending and she had half a mind to knock him off of her horse. But the fact that she could even grip her reins at all was incredible as it was. She was trembling so much and her head had started to pound. Natsu didn't even care to notice.

Then, all of the spite that had reached its peak, he turned around out of nowhere and rode back up the road towards the manor, surprising Lucy and her horse. Luckily her horse wasn't so surprised that it knocked her off her seat, but he raced off so fast that she couldn't react in time. She was left completely alone in the storm. She stared in shock at the road.

He must've been headed back to the manor, but her vision had been so blurred that she didn't know which way she was going. She growled as her tears fell and mixed with rain water. Damn him!

Her horse was tired. She sighed and decided to spare the creature a little mercy. Even in this weather with her body's temperature rising at such an alarming rate, she was thinking more about her horse than herself. When it came right down to it, her life didn't exactly matter. Once she died there would really be only less than a handful of people who would grieve for her as a person. Everyone would just grieve the loss of their ruler. It was quite a lonely existence.

After a while of riding in circles, the storm only got worse and she knew that she had to find shelter. There was no way she could ride anymore in this weather and it was quite clear that Natsu was not coming back for her. Oh well...

She found shelter under a large tree and pulled her knees to her chest. She was still trembling and her head was feeling heavy. She was catching a cold, or worse. Wonderful, now there was really no way that she could make it back to the castle. She looked sadly at the horse. It was already old and tired, but even then it didn't need to suffer the same fate as her. Maybe it was out of the kindness of her heart or her sheer stupidity that she set the horse free. Maybe it was the fact that right now she couldn't think straight as her head started to a bit lighter. If it continued to rise like this, she would be dead by morning.

She sat back at the base of the tree, tears falling. This wasn't the way she had planned to go, but perhaps this was what the heavens had planned for her...

* * *

Natsu was enjoying the feast a little too much to notice that no one else was. Everyone had thought that he was going mad and he ignored the death glares from Lucy's friends.

But something seemed to be missing. And after a while he began to question what it was. Everyone was there and the food was oddly delicious today. He had given into his gluttony for one evening. If it hadn't been for how worried sick they were, Erza and Levy would've dared to spit in his direction. This was disgusting even for a King. What was worse was that Lucy still hadn't turned up like Natsu said she would.

"And a toast!" Natsu cried gleefully, "To Lady Heartfilia!"

Everyone followed, but when Natsu opened his eyes, the person he was toasting to wasn't even present. Her seat was empty. He frowned. He had heard that her horse had somehow made its way back, so he had assumed that she was back too. He hadn't left her too far from the manor.

"Where's Lucy? She should be here!" he scowled, half worried and half angered that he couldn't taunt her even more.

"She never came back, Your Majesty. She's still out in the storm," Levy answered bitterly. She herself had tried to go after Lucy but the King forbade anyone from leaving the manor and he stationed guards to keep anyone from going. She was too small to fight them off.

Natsu's brows came together at the news. She should've come back by now. It's not like they had ridden so far out. He had been so sure that she would find her way back. But he may have miscalculated greatly. And right about then the Kingly, adult side of him started admonishing him.

 _'Well done you brute! Are you satisfied now? There's no way in hell that a girl raised as a princess would be tough enough to take on the harsh elements by herself! No matter what she said, you're proving her right! Why should she be loyal to you, when all you've done is show yourself out to be a tyrant? If she dies, her blood is on your hands and then the country will be sure to overthrow you somehow. Well done!'_

Natsu's cheeks turned red from shame like he was a child being scolded by his mother. He had done a shameful thing indeed. And now he had to pay for it. He stood up and everyone followed.

"I'm going out to find her. Everyone continue enjoying your meal," he announced and everyone sat back down but no one touched their food.

"We'll go with you," Jellal offered but Natsu shook his head.

"No, this is my doing. I must be the one to fix this. I acted like a child and it is my duty to atone for it. Please, don't come with me," he said. And before there was anymore protest from anyone else, he raced out of the hall, everyone staring.

Gray smirked as he stabbed at his meat with the knife. Natsu was the most stubborn person that he knew, but at the thought of Lucy being out in this storm was enough to change his mood from jovial and carefree to serious and concerned. He knew that Natsu had a large heart, but this girl was making him show it a lot more.

* * *

It was getting dark and Natsu was starting to panic. Why had he been such a childish fool? She had every right to be upset last night when he thought about it. He hadn't done much to make her feel safe, in fact the only reason that she had probably agreed to come riding in this ridiculous weather was because her life rested in the palm of his hand. She had done everything he had ever asked of her. And why wouldn't she suspect that all he wanted was one night with her body? He was notorious for that and she had probably seen her father go through woman after woman.

"Damn it!" he cursed up at the sky. Was this really what he had become? He never got like this, not even when he was taking down his enemy. This girl drove him absolutely mad and he knew why. His denial of that fact had driven them to this point and his heart ached in acknowledgment. He didn't know much about her and he didn't know how much she would reveal if he found her. All he knew was that he couldn't deny it any longer. And with the acceptance of that fact, he sped off.

Before long he heard a small whimper coming from behind a large tree. He frowned as he got off his horse. It sounded like a wounded animal, seeking relief as the elements raged on. He approached slowly and his heart sank as the source of the sound revealed itself. It was Lucy, shivering violently and completely drenched from head to toe.

"Lucy..." he whispered brokenly. She looked so fragile that if he reached out to take her hand, she'd shatter. The aching feeling in his chest only grew as the girl looked up, her face soaked by the rain and her tears, her eyes reddened from the crying. Despite all of that, she was still beautiful. Only now, her beauty was more fragile. And he had been the cause of it.

"Y-Your G-Grace," she tried brokenly, but her teeth chattered violently. Natsu had a hard time trying to keep calm as he stared at her for a second more. A new feeling was bubbling up inside of him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it seemed to add to whatever he had already felt towards Lucy. But he would ponder on that later. Right now he had to get her back to the manor and get her dried up.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry. I acted foolishly and..." he couldn't bring himself to say anymore but took her hand and pressed it to his cheek briefly. Her fingers felt like icicles.

"Y-You l-left m-me o-out h-her t-to d-die," she accused weakly. "I-It w-would've s-served y-you w-well."

Hearing the words only made him feel more shame. He hadn't felt this ashamed since that one incident many years ago. No, he couldn't think about that now.

"I'm so sorry," he said. Knowing that she was too weak to stand, he shifted slightly, wrapping one arm around her legs and the other around her waist, picking her up gently. She squeaked softly and Natsu almost chuckled at how cute the sound was. She felt surprisingly light in his his arms. Once they were both on his horse, her in front with her head resting on his chest he set off quickly. He rode quickly, looking down at her every now and then. She was shivering violently. He had bullied her quite badly in the last couple of hours. He didn't feel like a King right now, he felt like a little boy throwing a tantrum at not getting his way.

They were at the manor in record time. He wasted no time in getting her off of the horse. She was struggling to stay awake and her efforts at trying to keep herself from shaking too violently. He picked her up again and carried her inside. Everyone present stopped their chattering to stare at the pair. Lucy's cheeks flushed but Natsu only held on to her tighter.

"Lucy!" Erza cried out running towards them. Natsu didn't stop her. Whatever wrath he had incurred from her, he was ready to face it head on.

"Say what you need to later, right now I must take her to her rooms. I'll be spending the evening in her rooms. Please do not disturb," Natsu said, completely oblivious to the suggestive connotations of his words. Lucy stared up at him in horror but he proceeded up the stairs without a second thought. Everyone just stared, completely stunned at what was happening. Gray and Jellal didn't seem all that surprised as they knew what Natsu meant but Grey couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

Lucy was too weak and too cold to protest but once they reached her room, Natsu set her down right in front of the fireplace. He went to shut the door and by then Lucy found the strength to talk. More than anger, sadness came out.

"I know you despise the very thought of me being here. Around you I mean. I don't know what changed your mind, but it would've been best if you'd have left me out there to die."

Natsu's chest began to ache again at her words as he grabbed a blanket, "I didn't intend for you to die. Oh God Lucy, I swear that wasn't my intention."

He sounded like he was pleading, begging even, but it barely registered. "I know you hate me and the only reason you wanted to get to know me was to gain favor with the people."

He wrapped the blanket around her still shivering body. "That's not completely true, Lucy. There is another reason I can promise you that. I don't hate you at all. Since I met you, I don't think I ever really brought myself to. I acted foolishly today."

Lucy looked at him, stunned. She had not been expecting that. Out of all things she expected to hear, that hadn't been one of them. "Then?"

Natsu sighed. There was a lot he wanted to say, but he refused to tell her in this state. And aside from that, he hadn't completely sorted out his own feelings. No, he'd tell her his intentions once she was well enough to grasp it.

"I promise once you're better, I'll tell you. But please, for now..." he trailed off. Lucy watched in confusion as he removed his muddy riding boots. He then removed his shirt and Lucy's face grew redder and redder. To say that he was tone and fit was a pathetic understatement. She tried not to stare but she couldn't help but stare at his sculpted chest and well defined abdominal muscles. Natsu didn't seem to notice but he noticed how red she grew.

"Are you feeling all right?" he asked, concerned as he crouched down in front of her. Lucy nodded her head but she was still shivering. Natsu frowned. Being out in the cold rain had made her lose most of her body heat. Then he realized that she hadn't removed her wet dress either.

"Remove your dress and change into something dry," he gently commanded. Luckily a nightgown had been laid out for her. Natsu turned his back as she weakly stood up to change out of her clothes. Natsu let out a sigh. How painfully awkward this must've been for her. But he refused to leave her alone.

"I-I'm changed," she whispered, prompting him to turn around. He gaped. The nightgown was nowhere near warm enough to keep her warm. Why didn't she own anything warm? He felt even more obligated to make her his wife now. At least then he'd have a reason to send her some practical clothes for such weather. She was still very cold and there was no way a blanket would keep her warm.

There was one way though. He motioned her back to her place by the fire. She sat down but was startled by Natsu sitting behind her and wrapping his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. He wrapped the blanket around them both, trying to ensure optimal warmth. She turned her head to look up questioningly.

He sighed, "You're cold. You've lost much of your body heat."

"But what will everyone..." she whispered, shuddering at the thought of the rumors that would no doubt already be brewing from Natsu's actions downstairs.

"Don't worry about them. I'll handle that. Just focus on this right now," he mumbled. She was exhausted he could tell. He pressed her as close as possible, closed his eyes, and started rocking her in his arms, trying to lull her to sleep. Soon he felt her shivering stop and her breath even out. He looked down at her to see that she had calmly fallen asleep, the look on her face completely peaceful. It made his heart hurt. How could she look so peaceful after everything she had endured? It made no sense to him. Even so, he pressed a kiss to the crown of her head and nuzzled his cheek into her hair.

 _'I promise to never hurt you again Lucy. And if anyone tries to make you suffer again, I'll make them pay. I give you my word...'_

* * *

 _Well that took a while to write. Okay you guys are going to have to be a little patient , with me. Writing and updating with me is becoming increasingly more difficult as I am a college student and I have tests almost ever week and when I'm not studying I'm sleeping. But because I see that some people are getting impatient I'm trying to write and update as much as possible. Sorry, I had to get this out there because it's a little frustrating for me. Okay now that that's out of the way, yes good job Natsu! I had to add that thing at the end. It was too good not to add in. Anyway, it'll slowly start going up from here starting from now. And by that I mean their relationship. Let's see. ;) As usual, leave a review? Thanks :* I'm now updating on the first day of every month, just easier that way for me. See ya next time!_

 **—** ** _november-drops_**


	7. Through New Eyes

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters._

 _ **A/n- November 1, 2015:**_ _Had a good Halloween? October flew by! Sweet! After about a year of not working, I finally got my laptop fixed so I'm actually able to write as much as I want now. Of course with school and stuff, I'll have to stick to the monthly updates. But now I have more freedom since I'm no longer using my phone or father's laptop. And thank you so much for the positive response last chapter! This story got about 30 follows just after the last update so thank you everyone! Another thing, I may have to raise the rating. Not now, but later. The type of story this is as well as the time period makes it impossible to keep at a T rating for the whole thing. Hope you don't mind! Okay enough talk! Let's get back to the story shall we?_

 _ **Recap:**_ _After Natsu and Lucy's fallout, Natsu takes to extreme methods to punish Lucy. Everyone tries to warn him out of it, but Lucy reluctantly agrees to go. After leaving her out in the rain, Lucy lets her horse go, thinking that she'll die out there. Natsu realizes the error of his ways and also accepts his growing feelings for Lucy, but knows that he doesn't have a lot of time to waste with asking for her hand…_

* * *

 _ **Chapter 7: Through New Eyes**_

* * *

Natsu stayed in the room as long as he could. After she had drifted off to sleep, he took the liberty of carrying her to her bed. Even after tucking her in snugly, he refused to leave. He wouldn't take his eyes off of her.

The peaceful look on her face continued to pain him. He just didn't understand at all. After everything he had just put her through, how could she look so tranquil? And it only made the guilt rise. He was beginning to see her in a new light.

She was tough indeed; no one would ever be allowed to question that. At the same time though, she was delicate. A rose with many thorns was the best comparison he could come up with. Beautiful but could easily be destroyed without care. As for the thorns, he guessed most of them were because of him. No, he didn't guess, he knew they were because of him. But he would have to change that now. She had been a princess and he knew now that the only woman that could be his queen was her. No other woman could do it, she had proven that much.

He wasn't going to fight how he felt anymore. He had gone into this, wanting to get to know her and even hoping to fall in love. But something happened and he had tried his best to deny how he felt. Because seeing her face all the time only reminded him of what she had been before he took her family's throne. It was not a very happy feeling and in her eyes, the pain remained. It served as a constant reminder

He wasn't sure if it was even love, but he did care deeply. More than he had for anyone in a long time. And the thing was that after what he had done, he wanted to care. Not just about her, but he also wanted to care for. He wanted to protect her. And it all just felt so abrupt. This morning he had wanted nothing more than to make her suffer.

"I'm sorry…" he mumbled, brushing a stray strand of her normally perfectly kept hair out of her face. He frowned as his fingers brushed against her forehead. She was burning up.

His eyes widened in horror at the discovery. She was coming down with a fever. And a very high one at that. Natsu internal panic grew, realizing that there was no way he could take care of her alone. What was worse that he couldn't be at her side and he would be forbidden to do so if he called the physicians. But he couldn't be selfish. She'd die if she didn't get proper attention.

"Keep to your sleep Lucy, I'll go fetch someone, just please don't get worse," he begged, grabbing her hand and stroked it lightly with her. He had to tear his eyes off of her as he ran out of the room. Most of the castle had retired to their rooms by now; he had been with Lucy for hours. He had no idea who would be able to give Lucy the medical attention but he knew someone who might. He was dreading it though. But for Lucy's sake, he was willing to take that chance…

* * *

Erza and Levy had to be forced into their rooms. They had tried to go to Lucy's room, even tried to outrun the guards. But who knew that even when intoxicated they could still manage to catch and restrain someone as strong as Erza? They were forced into their rooms for the rest of the night and Jellal had stationed two guards outside of their door to ensure that they didn't run out. That was just delightful.

But neither sat still and seethed. They both thought of ways to get out of this room and into Lucy's. Even if the King was in there, it mattered little to them. They just wanted to attend to the girl they still saw as their sovereign ruler. Even if the very thought was treason.

"Alright, so here's what I was thinking," Levy started to say, "We can tie the sheets and if those aren't long enough, we can add the curtains. It's a 20 foot drop but she should be able to make it out. After that we can use entrance on the northeast side and—"

"There's a storm outside Levy, we'll be blown away," Erza sighed, shaking her head. Levy was a smart one, but sometimes she could forget some important details.

"Yes I know, but I was thinking that—".

Her plan was cut off by the door flying open, the guards standing at the entryway.

"The King has requested a meeting with you!"

They stood aside so that Natsu could enter. There was no questioning the look of disdain on their faces. But they were taken aback a bit by the weary and panicked look on his face. Even so, the look did not vanish off of their faces.

The second the doors shut behind him he began to speak, "She has a fever."

When he didn't say anything else, both girls found their anger boiling but Erza calmly said, "And whose fault is that? You left her to get completely drenched in the rain. It's not like she was at full strength when you took her. Everyone begged and begged you…"

Natsu kept his clenched fists to the side. He would've yelled back if it hadn't been for the fact that they were absolutely right and even he couldn't deny it. Forget yelling, he would've done a lot worse. Like what he'd done to Lucy…

"I realize that you are more than angry and it's justified, but if her fever rises anymore she could…" he drew in a sharp breath. He couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence.

"He sounds like he cares…" Levy commented quietly. She didn't sound convinced in the least.

"Listen," he began, unclenching his fists and taking deep breaths. "I don't want to argue. There's no point. And if we stand here and point fingers, Lucy will only grow worse. Can you at least do it for her?"

The room grew quiet. At the mention of Lucy's condition possibly getting worse, the expressions on their faces softened. Natsu smiled inwardly. He had them.

"I don't know who can tend to her…"he said after a moment. "I was hoping that you two did…"

The girls' faces instantly fell along with Natsu's stomach. If there was no one…

"Levy knows a little something about tending to the ill," Erza suddenly said. Natsu eyes instantly fell on the now wide-eyed and horrified girl.

"Erza! I don't know that much. Yes I've tended to my family when they were sick and I've read a few books on medicine, but I'm no physician! I can't!"

"Please." Levy's head spun around at the sound of the King's quiet, desperate plea. Shock and panic filled her as he approached her and grabbed her hand. "I know you don't think very highly of me right now. But I'm not asking this for myself. I'm asking this of you. Until I can get my physician over here, could you please tend to Lucy? Please for her.

Levy hesitantly looked down at the hand that Natsu was clutching and then brought her eyes to meet his. There was desperation, fear, panic, and another emotion. She couldn't quite discern what it was. And aside from the fact that even if this was completely insincere, he was still the King. But he actually cared for Lucy's health. He was a completely different person from the tyrant that morning.

She slowly withdrew her hand and looked him right in the eye. "I'll do whatever I can for her…"

Erza gave her a tiny smile and placed a hand on her shoulder while Natsu gave her a look of gratitude. Levy only hoped that she didn't let them or Lucy, most importantly, down.

* * *

Lucy's condition hadn't improved or deteriorated, but her fever was still high. So for now, Levy had to focus on breaking her fever.

"Erza, I'm going to need a cold, dampened cloth. Your Highness, I'm going to ask you to step back if you won't leave the room. There's a chance you might catch her fever yourself."

Natsu did as Levy asked without protest. Levy seemed to know what she was doing. Well that was until he saw that Levy was ripping the blankets off of her.

"What are you doing?!" he demanded, fighting the urge to march back over to the bedside.

Levy sighed, "Her temperature is too high. If I remove some of the blankets, some of the heat might be able to escape from her body."

"And then she will be cured?" Natsu asked carefully, only proving that medicine and healing were not his field of expertise.

"No," Levy said simply. "It'll break her fever in all probability, but she'll still be very weak for a while afterwards."

Erza returned with a cool, damp cloth. She handed it to Levy, who placed it on Lucy's warm forehead. It was amazing that through it all, Lucy managed to sleep peacefully. Well not peacefully, but she still slept through it all.

Natsu immediately became alarmed when Levy and Erza took a step back.

"Why are you—," Natsu once again demanded but was cut off by Levy.

"There's nothing more that we can do right now. We have to wait for her fever to break. In the meantime, you might want to make arrangements for a local doctor because with the current weather conditions, it'll be impossible to get your physician out here."

"She's royalty, she should be treated only by the best!" Natsu declared, not thinking about what he'd said until the words escaped his lips.

The girls gave him strange looks. Natsu said nothing and neither did the girls. They stood there for a long time and only the room growing less dark was the indicator that it was morning. The storm still raged on outside.

"Er Levy, I'll be here with Lucy. In the meantime, I know I heard there was a healer around here. Can you go and inquire?" Erza finally requested, breaking the very long silence.

Levy didn't answer. She was out of the room faster than Natsu could blink. He knew that she wasnted to be in the room as much as he did, but her beloved friend's needs came before her desires. Natsu was a bit touched by her loyalty.

"I don't know what you're playing, but I won't let you use Lucy for your twisted game," Erza's low, deadly voice snapped Natsu out of his musings. He stared at her, surprise painted on his face.

"I'm not playing any games, I just want—," he tried to explain only to be cut off.

"You may be the King, free to do whatever you want with your enemies, but leave Lucy out of it. She's an innocent in all this. You might've hated her father, but there's no need to wreak your vengeance out on her. She's not deserving of any of it. And if you think I'll let you torture her by marrying her…" Erza trailed off, realizing that she had let too much slip.

The surprise was replaced with irritation in less than a millisecond. "You are speaking to your King, I warn you. Men have had their tongues cut out for speaking even a tenth of what you've just said to me. And I don't know who told you about my intentions, but it's not to torture her. Quite the opposite actually."

"Oh? And I suppose that you suddenly just care for her? That you simply don't want to have her blood on your hands before the time is right? Or maybe before you can marry her and turn her into your broodmare?" Erza spat back. Her mind was screaming at her to keep quiet but she had pushed it away. The dangerous look that spread across Natsu's face instantly made her regret saying anything.

Natsu's rage was starting to win over the best of him, but he paused as Lucy's face came into his mind's eye. No, he couldn't do that to her trusted friend. She would never forgive him for that and he simply couldn't afford that right now. But normally that would warrant severe punishment.

"Might I once again remind you that you're talking to your King? I don't know what kind of person you take me fore, but I assure you that had it not been for the fact that Lucy would never forgive me if I were to do something severe with you; you wouldn't be standing right here. As for caring about her, that's my business alone."

Erza frowned and observed him. His eyes went back to Lucy and the look changed completely. He was no longer the tyrant who had ordered Lucy to come riding with him in the storm. No, he actually seemed to care now. What happened? Why the sudden shift in behavior?

Erza sighed, "She's been through a lot in the past half of a year because of you. And trust me she doesn't care much for the loss of her throne as it is the murder of her father. He was the only family she had left after her mother died and you took that from her. She can try and hide that from Levy and me all she wants, but it won't change the fact that we can see it in her eyes. We're her friends. No one's closer than us than she is. We're all she has left now."

The earlier anger evaporated but he hadn't taken his eyes off of Lucy for a second. Maybe he could forgive Erza for speaking to him like that. But the "we're all she has left now" echoed in his mind. It was a bit haunting to hear that. Natsu's fists clenched once again. Had he really made her so lonely? You could never tell with that attitude of hers. And she had never told him either. The guilt was only compounding with every little thing he was finding out. He'd have to find a way to fix this. At this point, he'd do anything to prove to Lucy that he wasn't the monster she thought that he was.

* * *

Natsu hadn't come down for breakfast. Gray kept staring at the empty seat. The King's absence was certainly felt. No one was commenting on it, but people would occasionally shift their eyes to the empty seat before going back to the person that they were conversing with.

Gray had to excuse himself. It was just too strange without Natsu. He didn't care how that looked to everyone else, but he had grown too accustomed to dining with someone he actually cared for. And that was really all of two people. But Juvia wasn't here and Natsu was within reach. Natsu never skipped a meal, no matter how bad of a mood he was in. He had figured the night before that Natsu was tending to Lucy and wanted to be alone, but he didn't think it would last into the morning.

Gray made his way up the stairs and to Lucy's room. He didn't even want to think about what he could possibly walk in on. But Natsu needed to eat.

"Gray!" Gray turned around to see Natsu coming up behind him. Gray had to do a double take at the sight of Natsu. To put it simply, he looked awful. His face was pale, his hair was disorderly, he was still wearing the same clothes from the night before, and there were deep pronounced circles underneath his eyes. And to top it all off, he looked like he had no energy whatsoever. That disturbed Gray deeply as Natsu was always one to be oozing with life and energy. What in the hell happened?

"Natsu?" he said slowly, dragging out the final syllable. "You look hideous."

Natsu ignored the blunt comment and continued to make his way to Gray only to stop 3 feet away. The next words that left Natsu's mouth took Gray completely by surprise. "I need someone to escort me to the nearby church. Since you're the one I'm closest to…"

"You need to go to…church?" Gray had to make sure he heard that carefully. Natsu only went to church when it was required of him. Like Sundays and special occasions. He was not a particularly religious person but did it for reasons of protocol.

"Yes, that's what I just said," Natsu mumbled, his irritation more than evident.

"There's a storm outside. We'd be lucky to even make it passed the entrance. And in any case, why the sudden need for church is odd," Gray deadpanned.

"I just…" Natsu's tone rose and fell, "Needed to go and pray."

"You can do that here. What's this about?" Gray inquired, extremely interested now.

"Lucy's sick with a fever. Her ladies told me to leave so that I don't get sick, but I…" he drew in a sharp breath.

Gray nodded his head in understanding. He knew exactly what Natsu was getting at. And even though he was sorely tempted to tease Natsu about this, he knew that it was best not to.

"Okay, well since we can't go to a church, there's an uninhabited room here. I go there to pray."

"You pray?" Natsu gave him a strange look. Gray scowled.

"Yes I pray, but not for myself," he answered, annoyed.

Natsu asked no more questions as he followed Gray. He didn't need to wonder why Gray prayed. Before he had met the Lockser girl, you had to stand behind him to make sure he was saying his prayers. But he spent some time at the Lockser's home and he returned a changed man. Okay he hadn't completely changed, but he stopped spending nights in the company of women and wine. He had actually cared about certain things, told Natsu to give Lucy a chance, and keep an open mind in general. Love had changed him and for the better perhaps. Natsu used to roll his eyes at the thought. Before, love hadn't seemed like a real thing to him, just something out of a story. Gray, however, never fit in with Natsu's assumptions of what a man in love should act like.

They came to a giant wooden door. Gray pushed it open and Natsu took a look inside. It was indeed unused. The room had a high ceiling and a window near the roof to let sunlight in. It looked like a place you'd put a prisoner in. It didn't even have a bed, just a long table with two chairs on each end. On the table was a thick book, Natsu guessed that it was a Bible. Gray took to reading that to so it seemed.

"You pray for her, don't you?" Natsu asked suddenly.

Gray didn't answer and Natsu took his silence as a confirmation. Gray wasn't one of those men who bragged about their women. She came up a few times in conversation, nothing more though. But it was the way he had talked about her that confirmed that he was a man in love. Well at least he hadn't been foolish about it. It was really Gray who had changed his views on love. And that was the reason why he, Natsu, wanted to marry someone that he loved.

Natsu walked into the room, passed the table without giving in a second glance, and kneeled down in the spot where the overcast sunlight was touching. He kneeled down clasped his hands together. Gray knelt beside him and did the same.

' _I know that we don't talk often and I probably don't deserve everything You have blessed me with, but I'm not here for me. I've made Lucy suffer and now she is bearing the brunt of my foolishness. I ask for nothing, but her well-being. Please, I'll do anything. I'll take several pilgrimages to ever monastery in the land, just please. Amen…'_

He opened his eyes back up to see that Gray had finished with his prayers.

"Are you ready to admit that you care for Lucy more than you've cared for any other woman?" Gray was blunt when he was being serious and he always went straight to the point.

"I admitted that to myself last night when she was drenched out in the rain. I tried to get myself to hate her, but I ultimately couldn't. I know I came here with the intention of trying to like her, but I didn't even need to try. And that scared me, so I denied it all I could. It'll be long before I can ever make up for what I did," he responded.

Gray's brows rose with slight surprise. Natsu had always dodged the subject of his feelings for Lucy. Well, it was a bit of a relief for him to see that Natsu was finally admitting it. "If she becomes your wife, you can definitely make it up to her.

At this Natsu turned to look Gray straight in the eye, a fiery determination that he was all too familiar with flickered in Natsu's eyes. "If? There's no if. There's no maybe. She _will_ become my wife. Look at everything I've done to her, she's suffered enough. And I know how every man I've stationed here looks at her, like she's a piece of meat. And I put that idea into their minds. If I don't, they'll hurt her the second I'm gone. I can't and won't stand for that. I promised I'd never let anyone harm her again and as her husband, I'll be able to give her that."

Gray smirked at his answer. In his own roundabout way, Natsu had just admitted to loving her. He had admitted that he cared and took a liking to her, but Gray wasn't too sure if Natsu was aware of the magnitude of his own feelings. No matter, this was a step in the right direction.

"Excuse me, Your Grace!" Natsu and Gray turned around to see one of the servants at the doorway. Apparently he had been looking all over for him because he seemed out of breath.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Lady Levy has sent for you, Lady Lucy has awoken…"

* * *

Natsu of course had all but flown to Lucy's room. He dismissed all of the guards, servants, and anyone else in the room. He even requested that Levy and Erza step out for a while, expressing his gratitude.

"I just need to talk to her," he said quietly. His eyes shifted to where she was laying. There was a newly dampened cloth on her head and her eyes were half opened.

Everyone left the room quietly, including Erza and Levy. They hadn't wanted to, but they would be right outside the door if anything were to happen. But after last night, they had a small bit of confidence that he would not harm her.

Natsu made his way quietly to her bedside. Her eyes were met his own as he made his way. She gave him a tiny smile. Natsu could feel a twinge of guilt coming on. How could she smile at him after everything that had happened?

"Lucy I…" he began. "I acted stupidly. Even as a King I acted out of line. You're here sick because of me and I can't apologize enough."

He bowed his head as he sat on the hair next to her. He grabbed her hand gently and began to stroke it.

"Levy told me everything, you don't need to apologize," she said, her voice quiet from weakness.

"I do Lucy. Don't excuse my actions because I am your King. I'm not God, I'm still a man and I'm not above committing grave mistakes," he answered fiercely, taking Lucy by surprise. Not by his tone, but by his words. She never thought a King would ever admit to making a mistake and admitting that he was just a man. Even her own father could have never admitted to that.

"Well, in a couple days' time, you'll leave this place and you'll never have to think of me again," she offered. But for some reason, her chest ached upon saying it.

Natsu's eyes instantly widened, remembering that he needed to go back to the capital. His two weeks were almost up. But as he looked down at Lucy's weak condition, he knew he couldn't just leave her here.

"No," he said simply. Lucy made no attempt to hide her confusion. She tilted her head as much as she could.

"What do you mean?"

"Lucy, I want you to spend the next couple of days regaining as much of your strength. I'll make sure you get the best nourishment and I'll have the servants fetch fresh sheets. You're coming with me to the capital and staying at the palace. Your ladies may join you as well; in fact I want them to join us. I won't take no for an answer. I don't want you staying at this shabby manor any longer. You are coming back to Court and I'll see to it that you are well taken care of there…"

* * *

 _Okay not the best chapter admittedly. And yup! Natsu decided to take her back to the capital with him. You must all be waiting for the proposal and I assure you that I have something planned. Also yes Juvia will make an appearance in the story, but a little later. Actually I've had it written out for months and I can't wait to get to it. So I may have underestimated just how long this fic is going to be because this chapter sort of developed some more plot. The more the merrier I suppose! I really love this story and I'm sorry that the update came later in the day. I had school related things going on. Gotta love college._

 _ **Announcement:**_ _I've planned out another couple of NaLu multi-chaptered stories. They'll also be AUs but they'll be very different from this one. I have more stuff to think about, but they should be up anytime between late November (around or on my birthday) to mid-December. Yes I'm shamelessly promoting them now so I have motivation to actually publish it._

 _Okay that's it for now my loves! Sorry for the ridiculous end author's note. Thank you to everyone who's been favoriting and following! It really helps with the confidence! That's it for now! Next update is December 1_ _st_ _! As usual, please review? :*_

— _ **november-drops**_


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